Editor’s note: This is the second of five posts from the 2022 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. The first post features New York Times reporter Ellen Barry with tips on first-person narratives and … Read more
No surprise that the infamous slap during the March 27 Oscars was the talk of the press the next day, and the day after, and so many of the days that followed. No real surprise that someone in he … Read more
Veteran U.S. newspaper journalist Brian Bonner has given the last 14 years of his career to Ukraine. As the longtime editor of the Kyiv Post, an English-language newspaper in the country’s capital, he directed a staff of reporters who … Read more
Each time I lived in China, for a stretch in 2008 and again in 2015, I felt alone and disconnected. I grew up in Boston, but am Chinese by blood. I shared the same skin, eyes and hair color … Read more
Of the too-many horror stories coming out of Ukraine, I find myself stopped when I read yet another about a family that fled with nothing of their settled lives. Grab a jacket, the children, the dog, your passports, whatever … Read more
For most of my life, feedback made me anxious. I was in third grade when my mom came home from a parent-teacher conference with this pronouncement. “Your teacher said your math skills need improvement, so I’m going to find … Read more
Who we are when we encounter a story can have a lot to do with how we engage with that story and what meaning we take from it. Our age, personal experience, cultural context, social morays, and even the … Read more
All the great writers have proffered wisdom on the craft, the best-in-show quote being Norman Mailer’s: “Writing books is the closest men come to childbearing.” But the literary sages have offered scarce advice to serious long-form journalists on plotting, … Read more
It’s no surprise to Tim Sullivan that major news outlets like CNN or his employer, the Associated Press, are taking flak from conservatives for peddling “fake news.” But he was taken aback when a colleague told him that her … Read more
I’ve heard that most writers struggle with structure. But when you’re alone, surrounded by a mountain of notes and staring at a blank computer screen, it can feel like you’re the only one who hasn’t figured out the secret … Read more