Story Craft

Narrative + investigative: tips from IRE 2012, Part 1

Narrative + investigative: tips from IRE 2012, Part 1

At last month’s Investigative Reporters & Editors conference, in Boston, hundreds of reporters attended dozens of sessions on everything from analyzing unstructured data to working with the coolest web tools and building…
July 12, 2012
Paige Williams
Michael Mooney on trauma detail, his reading partner, the internal critic and his "I ♥ (Vince Young)" notebook

Michael Mooney on trauma detail, his reading partner, the internal critic and his "I ♥ (Vince Young)" notebook

We’ll be talking to Michael Mooney again soon about a small body of his recent long-form journalism, but today we give our attention to “When Lois Pearson Started Fighting Back,”…
July 6, 2012
Paige Williams
Nora Ephron on writing: 7 tips

Nora Ephron on writing: 7 tips

Before she wrote Silkwood, before she fictionalized her divorce from Carl Bernstein in the novel Heartburn, before she felt bad about her neck or put Sally with Harry or gifted…
June 29, 2012
Paige Williams
Jaimee Rose on a personal mystery, guiding forces, the importance of fripperies and the meaning of life

Jaimee Rose on a personal mystery, guiding forces, the importance of fripperies and the meaning of life

In “Question of a Lifetime,” our latest Notable Narrative, Arizona Republic features writer Jaimee Rose tells a moving story about her grandfather’s search for answers regarding a top-secret mission he…
June 22, 2012
Paige Williams
David Grann on the making of "The Yankee Comandante"

David Grann on the making of "The Yankee Comandante"

From the moment David Grann’s “The Yankee Comandante” appeared in the New Yorker last week, readers have been talking about it, hailing the tale of political intrigue, passion and heartbreak…
June 8, 2012
Paige Williams
Kiera Feldman on investigative narrative, trauma reporting, true believers and tricky description

Kiera Feldman on investigative narrative, trauma reporting, true believers and tricky description

In “Grace in Broken Arrow,” our newest Notable Narrative, Brooklyn-based freelancer Kiera Feldman unfurls an investigative story about child sex abuse and institutional accountability at a private evangelical Christian school…
June 1, 2012
Paige Williams
Buzz Bissinger on heart, luck, honesty, critics and the importance of switching things up

Buzz Bissinger on heart, luck, honesty, critics and the importance of switching things up

When Buzz Bissinger visited the Nieman Foundation last week, in some ways he was coming home. Twenty-six years ago, he finished his Nieman year inspired to do new and different…
May 25, 2012
Paige Williams
Wright Thompson on identity, clarity, editing, voodoo and the deadline virtues of Lionel Ritchie

Wright Thompson on identity, clarity, editing, voodoo and the deadline virtues of Lionel Ritchie

We chose Wright Thompson’s ESPN.com piece “The Kid Who Wasn't There” as our latest Notable Narrative because the story added a chilling layer to the odd life story of Guerdwich…
May 11, 2012
Paige Williams
Multimedia storytelling at The Atavist: One year in, how's it going, Evan Ratliff?

Multimedia storytelling at The Atavist: One year in, how’s it going, Evan Ratliff?

It’s been a little over a year since The Atavist debuted as a groundbreaking digital platform for long-form multimedia storytelling. Narrative journalists had been bemoaning the shrinking storytelling acreage, so this…
May 3, 2012
Paige Williams
Kevin Sack on kidney transplants, kickers, the myth of the daily/narrative disconnect and “The Little Mermaid”

Kevin Sack on kidney transplants, kickers, the myth of the daily/narrative disconnect and “The Little Mermaid”

For our latest Notable Narrative we chose Kevin Sack’s “60 Lives, 30 Kidneys, All Linked,” a New York Times story about an unprecedented chain of kidney transplants. We admired the…
April 27, 2012
Paige Williams