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

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“Why’s this so good?” No. 21: Neal Stephenson’s plot-free adventure story

“Why’s this so good?” No. 21: Neal Stephenson’s plot-free adventure story

For one thing, it’s 42,535 words long. This lets you know that you’re into Serious Business right there, before you even get started. Then comes the opening, torn straight from…
November 22, 2011
November Editors’ Roundtable: GQ's close-up on the people who bring you breakfast (and lunch, and dinner)

November Editors’ Roundtable: GQ’s close-up on the people who bring you breakfast (and lunch, and dinner)

Our November Roundtable looks at “Hecho en América,” by Jeanne Marie Laskas. Laskas immerses herself in the world of migrant workers picking blueberries in Washington County, Maine, and illuminates the…
November 17, 2011
“Why’s this so good?” No. 20: Mr. Weschler's magic cabinet

“Why’s this so good?” No. 20: Mr. Weschler's magic cabinet

Magic and writing tricks differ in at least one happy way: A writing trick’s delights only increase once you see through the sleight of hand.In “Inhaling the Spore,” writing about a…
November 15, 2011
“Why’s this so good?” No. 15: Michael Lewis’ Greek odyssey

“Why’s this so good?” No. 15: Michael Lewis’ Greek odyssey

Last October, with the Greek bond crisis emerging as a danger to the European economy, Michael Lewis wrote a piece for Vanity Fair about an order of monks accused of…
October 11, 2011
“Why’s this so good?” No. 14: Sandra Cate on DIY cooking in a county jail

“Why’s this so good?” No. 14: Sandra Cate on DIY cooking in a county jail

Freed from the captivity of home cookery and the rarefied practice of restaurant criticism, food is now a legitimate lens for thoughtful cultural journalism. It’s also a massive revenue generator…
October 6, 2011
“Why's this so good?” No. 13: Gene Weingarten peels the Great Zucchini

“Why’s this so good?” No. 13: Gene Weingarten peels the Great Zucchini

The Great Zucchini has a secret. And in “The Peekaboo Paradox,” Gene Weingarten exhumes the history that haunts the most popular children’s entertainer in Washington, D.C. The story, which ran…
September 27, 2011
“Why’s this so good?” No. 10: Ralph Wiley tackles Jim Brown

“Why’s this so good?” No. 10: Ralph Wiley tackles Jim Brown

In “Nobody Else is Jim Brown,” sportswriter Ralph Wiley constructs a profile of perhaps the greatest football player in NFL history, a man so legendary that the word legend actually applies.…
September 6, 2011
“Why’s This So Good?” No. 9: Herbert Muschamp builds a metaphor

“Why’s This So Good?” No. 9: Herbert Muschamp builds a metaphor

What do Silly Putty, Superman and Marilyn Monroe have to do with architecture?Short answer: Nothing.Long answer:  Herbert Muschamp. In 1997, New York Times architecture critic Muschamp traveled to a then…
August 23, 2011
Michael Mooney on Jerry Joseph: "What person has not thought about what it would be like to relive their youth?"

Michael Mooney on Jerry Joseph: "What person has not thought about what it would be like to relive their youth?"

Our latest Editors’ Roundtable looks at Michael Mooney’s story “Blindsided: The Jerry Joseph Basketball Scandal,” from the July issue of GQ. Mooney, a staff writer for D Magazine, previously worked for…
August 5, 2011
"Why's this so good?" No. 3: André Aciman on the geography of longing

"Why's this so good?" No. 3: André Aciman on the geography of longing

Any piece about New York City has a heavyweight champion to contend with – E.B. White’s “Here Is New York” – but André Aciman’s “Shadow Cities” comes out swinging. “On…
July 12, 2011