Story Craft

A book captures the obsessive habits of great authors — quirks that writing coach Chip Scanlan says help writers focus and summon the Muse

Most 20-something sports journalists don’t find themselves covering something as raw and emotional as the aftermath of one of the deadliest natural disasters in American history. But here was Benjamin Hochman, sitting in the lobby of the Doubletree hotel in Dallas with…

 The U.S. Supreme Court this week (June 17, 2020) ruled that the Civil Rights act of 1964  prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which the majority said…

An award-winning sports reporter learns to relax his professional writing by penning personal notes on postcards

One moderately productive, relatively-sane freelancer’s approach to writing through a crisis

EDITOR’S NOTE: This essay first appeared in The Cabin, a center for writers in Idaho. It is used with permission. Also, read Kim Cross’s Writer’s Survival Guide: Tips for defying…

Every year as I put together my syllabus, Hank Stuever’s list makes me smile. A decade ago, I came upon the 13 questions that my former Washington Post colleague would…

Shop class: What we can learn about finding and focusing original enterprise stories from watching the early days of coronavirus coverage

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece is published in partnership with the Poynter Institute.I have come to believe that all readers read all stories twice — all the time.The first reading comes…

Writing guru Roy Peter Clark shows how a single, long sentence reveals the power of an overlooked writing tool: the placement of the main clause