Notable Narratives

A doc film that gently unspools surprises

Filmmaker Eloisa Diez follows a trans man's journey to create a family of his own ~ and confronts her own storytelling stereotypes

By Line Vaaben • March 17, 2023

Alex Reyes de Anda with his partner, Fernanda, after giving birth to his daughter, Victoria

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Story Craft

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

By Don Nelson • March 17, 2023

From the Editor

Writing without words

A watercolor workshop offers wisdom about the art and lifetime practice of storytelling in any form

By Jacqui Banaszynski • March 14, 2023

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Writing tips Freelancing The Pitch The Pivot Field Testing The Power of Narrative conference
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Story Annotations

Jon Mooallem’s narrative on the Camp Fire: “The value is in the telling”

By Ania Hull
February 16, 2023

The experienced author and magazine writer takes on the aftermath of California's biggest wildfire with insecurity and empathy

From the Editor

Intimate stories in abstract numbers

By Jacqui Banaszynski
February 14, 2023

As the death toll from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria rises, the editor reflects on the individual stories those numbers represent

Short Takes

Who says political writing has to be boring?

By Jacqui Banaszynski
February 9, 2023

Description, detail and sensory imagery tease out the drama and significance of a typically staid political event

Story Craft

How to free your writing with free writing

By Korrina Duffy
February 8, 2023

Timed free writing — no stopping, no correcting, no fretting — can leapfrog mental paralysis to a "shitty" but valuable first draft

Story Craft

A whimsical request inspired some essential writing tools

By Roy Peter Clark
February 7, 2023

Writing scholar and author Roy Peter Clark responded to a quirky (and somewhat brash) letter with a lifetime list of writing wisdom

Story Craft

A veteran newsman teaches writing through music

By Chuck Haga
February 2, 2023

Chuck Haga and his students exchange favorite music of their generations to explore metaphor and meaning that can make writing sparkle

One Great Moment

“… how the persons with jobs do the jobs and all the living as well.”

By Jacqui Banaszynski
February 1, 2023

From the novel "Room" buy Emma Donoghue, which is written entirely in the voice and perspective of a 5-year-old boy

From the Editor

How empathy can tell a more honest story of gun-violence trauma

By Jacqui Banaszynski
January 31, 2023

Separate profiles of best friends in the Uvalde school shooting — one who died, one who survived — reveal sensitivity and depth

Why's This So Good?

Challenging the stereotype of Uvalde’s plucky child survivor

By Mallary Tenore Tarpley
January 27, 2023

John Woodrow Cox invests time, attention and empathy to profile a girl who became the public voice of the town's messy recovery from trauma

Story Annotations

Spending time to report a meditation on the long tail of grief

By Chip Scanlan
January 26, 2023

A team from The New York Times immersed itself in Uvalde, Texas, after the "media horde" left and showed the fuller horror of a mass shooting

From the Editor

How to exercise your descriptive muscles

By Jacqui Banaszynski
January 24, 2023

Use the world around you as a playground to stretch your skills at using analogy and metaphor

Strictly Q&A

How a documentary filmmaker captures “lived experience”

By Kristen Chin
January 20, 2023

Omar Mullick, who made "Flight/Risk" about the Boeing 737 MAX crashes, discusses pros and cons of print vs film story work

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