Search results for “writing the book”

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When the bounds of conventional journalism are too tight

When the bounds of conventional journalism are too tight

I’ll go great lengths not to affect a story during the reporting process. Journalists are supposed to be the observer, not the actor, right? Our job is to witness and…
How protest songs echo — and sometimes lead — the stories of our times

How protest songs echo — and sometimes lead — the stories of our times

On a warm spring night in 1974, I was an Ohio University student reporter amid a riot. Not a riot against repression or inequality or injustice or the Vietnam War,…
What happens when a superstar novelist is asked to profile a superstar actress?

What happens when a superstar novelist is asked to profile a superstar actress?

Ann Patchett writes about Reese Witherspoon: No celebrity dirt, a storytelling structure, lots of dialog about books and houses and feminism
How to become a "five-tool" storyteller

How to become a “five-tool” storyteller

Major League Baseball, that beloved summer sport, returns to a shortened season later this month. Or at least it is scheduled to, but as with all things in the time…
Four questions mine for bottomless wisdom

Four questions mine for bottomless wisdom

During the 15 years that Chip Scanlan taught writing workshops at the Poynter Institute, he wrote a popular column called “Chip on Your Shoulder.” Searching Poynter’s archives takes some work,…
Navigating ethics, culture and safety to immerse in immigration and Covid

Navigating ethics, culture and safety to immerse in immigration and Covid

At first glance, there are few frills or fireworks in “Tatiana’s Luck,” Hannah Dreier ‘s profile of an immigrant living in a crowded New Jersey house stalked by COVID-19. In the…
"His conversation is so delightfully sauced ..."

“His conversation is so delightfully sauced …”

—Robin Wall Kimmerer from an essay in "Braiding Sweetgrass"
"Words are living things. They have personality, point of view, agenda."

“Words are living things. They have personality, point of view, agenda.”

—Mads Mikkelsen as TV character Hannibal Lecter
How F. Scott Fitzgerald guided the hand and aspirations of a newspaper journalist

How F. Scott Fitzgerald guided the hand and aspirations of a newspaper journalist

Early in my career, while working in Minnesota as a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, I fell in love with F. Scott Fitzgerald, the city’s most famous native…
Reading (Stephen King) to learn to write

Reading (Stephen King) to learn to write

Now for something fun and funky, or at least distracting, but these days I’m sure we could all use fun and funky, or at least distracting. A starter’s guide to…