Story Craft

Notes from a nonfiction writing workshop

From the mountains of Romania to storytellers everywhere: Sharing key lessons from a five-day immersion in craft
How a 9/11 narrative guided a gun violence narrative 22 years later

How a 9/11 narrative guided a gun violence narrative 22 years later

Reporters from The Dallas Morning News pieced together a tick-tock of a deadly mall shooting, starting with "normal aspects of life"
Climbing the "ladder of abstraction" to evoke empathy and elevate your message

Climbing the “ladder of abstraction” to evoke empathy and elevate your message

A concept adapted from theories of rhetoric can help writers choose details that add both intimacy and universality to a story
Endings: How to leave readers satisfied ~ and wanting more

Endings: How to leave readers satisfied ~ and wanting more

In Narrative Elements 4, Lauren Kessler pays practical attention to the oft-neglected challenge of story endings
Character: The beating heart of narrative

Character: The beating heart of narrative

In Narrative Elements 3, Lauren Kessler outlines the reporting tools that turn predictable profiles into compelling character studies
2023 Power of Narrative: Revving the story engine

2023 Power of Narrative: Revving the story engine

Atavist editor Seyward Darby on the writing craft that drives readers through a story to the end: Plot, characters, scene
2023 Power of Narrative: Prepping for profiles

2023 Power of Narrative: Prepping for profiles

Washington Post profile writer Geoff Edgers loads up on advance research and background interviews in advance of interviewing a celebrity
Reporting and writing scenes: The foundational building block of stories

Reporting and writing scenes: The foundational building block of stories

In Narrative Elements 2, Lauren Kessler explores the multiple methods of reporting required to collect the raw material for meaningful scenes
2023 Power of Narrative: The investigation and birth of a personal essay

2023 Power of Narrative: The investigation and birth of a personal essay

By Caren CheslerEssayist and poet Hillery Stone lost her 4-year-old dog not long ago. A door was opened. The dog ran out. Several people who tried to steer the dog…
The making of a (born) journalist

The making of a (born) journalist

Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame may have been hard-wired to be a reporter but he also worked hard at his craft