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

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"Why's this so good?" No. 42: Tom Hallman and timeless forgiveness

Years ago, the wonderful Walt Harrington came to our newsroom and fired us up. We were at the start of a storytelling revival, trying to find our way back to craft, and…
May 15, 2012
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

"Why’s this so good?" No. 40: Roy Blount Jr. lets Jerry Clower talk

Over the years Roy Blount Jr. has written a number of superb magazine articles, one of my favorites being “Knock ’im Out, Jay-ree!” a profile of the great Southern raconteur…
May 1, 2012
"Why's this so good?" No. 38: Walt Harrington deconstructs Rita Dove

"Why's this so good?" No. 38: Walt Harrington deconstructs Rita Dove

Writing about the writing process isn’t easy, for good reason. Turning words into sentences and sentences into scenes is at heart a craft, yet there’s still a certain amount of…
April 17, 2012
"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