Search results for “so you want to write a book”

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"Why's this so good?" No. 37: Ben Hecht walks the high wire of voice

"Why’s this so good?" No. 37: Ben Hecht walks the high wire of voice

I love teaching “The Pig” because students, especially narrative nonfiction students, always freak out. “Wait, we can do this?” they want to know.Yes, you can do this and I’d like to…
April 10, 2012

“Why’s this so good?” No. 36: Alice Steinbach and one boy’s vision

I wish I had come to this assignment when Alice Steinbach was still alive. I could have thanked her one last time for writing “A Boy of Unusual Vision,” a…
April 3, 2012

“Why’s this so good?” No. 35: Malcolm Gladwell on ketchup

Malcolm Gladwell does so many things well as a feature writer that it’s embarrassing to mention them all. I’ll list a few of them anyway: Malcolm Gladwell is astonishingly quotable.…
March 27, 2012
Dahlia Lithwick on long-form, sob stories and the Supreme Court

Dahlia Lithwick on long-form, sob stories and the Supreme Court

In this week’s Notable Narrative, we took a semi-quantitative look at how Dahlia Lithwick’s story on a wrongful conviction used one person’s experience as a narrative thread to present a…
March 23, 2012
“Why’s this so good?” No. 34: Buzz Bissinger trails a fabulist

“Why’s this so good?” No. 34: Buzz Bissinger trails a fabulist

So, you, a journalist, are given this ridiculous, outrageous assignment: Write a story about one of your own, a writer who betrayed your profession on a spectacular scale. It’s the…
March 20, 2012
“Why’s this so good?” No. 32: Darcy Frey on the brink

“Why’s this so good?” No. 32: Darcy Frey on the brink

It’s been 16 years since I first read Darcy Frey’s piece about the overwhelming, stressful job of being an air traffic controller – 16 years since I first swore never to…
February 28, 2012
Turning a newspaper project into a book: Christopher Goffard on "You Will See Fire"

Turning a newspaper project into a book: Christopher Goffard on "You Will See Fire"

We recently noticed that Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard had expanded a series he had done for the paper into the book “You Will See Fire.” We’ve talked with…
February 24, 2012
Beth Macy on Edna Buchanan, sources in conflict, and stories too sad to tell

Beth Macy on Edna Buchanan, sources in conflict, and stories too sad to tell

Our January Editors’ Roundtable looked at “After the battle, Mike Sword’s war within,” a story by Roanoke Times reporter Beth Macy about the death of an Air Force veteran in Virginia after…
January 27, 2012
“Why’s this so good?” No. 29: Andrea Curtis and the rhythm of mercy

“Why’s this so good?” No. 29: Andrea Curtis and the rhythm of mercy

As a rule, I’m not one of those readers who flips ahead to the last few pages of an article or book before committing myself to reading it. I like…
January 24, 2012
“Why’s this so good?” No. 28: Vanessa Grigoriadis on Britney Spears

“Why’s this so good?” No. 28: Vanessa Grigoriadis on Britney Spears

There’s a video of Britney Spears shot in 2007, not long after Valentine’s Day. She’s pacing around a tattoo parlor, where she’s just gotten a pair of bright red lips…
January 17, 2012