Personal Essays

The power of the pun, from Shakespeare to Walter Cronkite to Roy Peter Clark

How a bit of word play launched Clark's career as the renowned writing teacher at the Poynter Institute and author of 20 books on writing

By Roy Peter Clark • April 23, 2024

William Shakespeare and Walter Cronkite

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From the Editor

A time capsule of journalism’s romantic age

The editor visits the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club, where the company is fascinating, the drinks are cheap and the memories are deep

By Jacqui Banaszynski • April 22, 2024

Story Craft

The why, who and how of interviews

A reporter/editor/teacher recommends stepping back to take a crucial first step of thought and planning to ensure effective interviews

By Jacqui Banaszynski • April 19, 2024

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From the Editor

A time capsule of journalism’s romantic age

By Jacqui Banaszynski
April 22, 2024

The editor visits the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club, where the company is fascinating, the drinks are cheap and the memories are deep

From the Editor

Reverse engineering and story construction

By Jacqui Banaszynski
April 2, 2024

Blueprints, patterns, schematics and other building plans provide a model for building a more effective story with less struggle

From the Editor

True stories embrace the dualities of life

By Jacqui Banaszynski
March 26, 2024

The editor ponders the emergence of spring as a metaphor for tension inherent in life — and stories

From the Editor

So many newsletters: Reading to learn to write to be read

By Jacqui Banaszynski
March 19, 2024

The editor reflects on newsletters as a writing form and what they might teach us about various ways to engage readers

From the Editor

Circling your way to a story

By Jacqui Banaszynski
March 14, 2024

The editor muses on how letting your mind wander can sometimes lead to more creative insights and writing

From the Editor

Confessions of a flawed proofreader

By Jacqui Banaszynski
February 20, 2024

The editor corrects and apologizes for a fact error, and muses on the challenges of seeing glitches in our own writing

From the Editor

Story treats from cookie jars

By Jacqui Banaszynski
February 13, 2024

The editor, inspired by a collection of vintage cookie jars at a country diner, muses on the trove of stories found by revisiting history.

From the Editor

What and how I learned from Jon Franklin

By Jacqui Banaszynski
January 30, 2024

A master and pioneer of narrative nonfiction, Franklin was a demanding teacher and unapologetic force for better writing

From the Editor

Journalism as a practice of wonder

By Jacqui Banaszynski
January 23, 2024

The editor reflects on how a career covering the news valued curiosity and encouraged a life of intellectual exploration

From the Editor

When journalism is a defense against despair

By Jacqui Banaszynski
January 9, 2024

The editor ponders the role journalism plays in delivering hard news while also representing the best hopes of democracy

From the Editor

The power of flexible focus

By Jacqui Banaszynski
January 2, 2024

As a new year begins, the editor reflects on three words that can power our stories — and our aspirations: What happens next?

From the Editor

The enduring gift of stories

By Jacqui Banaszynski
December 25, 2023

A father finds a story that works for his infant daughter — and for the world

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