EDITOR’S NOTE: The final post in our series on narrative interviewing explores how a reporter focuses in on the cinematic details that create compelling scenes. Previous posts outlined the difference between reporting for news and for narrative, … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: In the third installment of our series on interviewing, narrative journalist Kim Cross describes how to find and follow the arc of a story and the central tension or conflict that drives it forward. Previous posts outlined the … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second post in our five-part series on the art of the interview from narrative journalist and teacher Kim Cross. In the opening piece, Cross notes the need for an interviewing approach that … Read more
By Chip Scanlan Journalists who write profiles don’t go in cold. They pre-report to prepare for crucial interviews. They read widely and research previous stories that have been written about their subject. They think through questions they need to … Read more
By Laine Cibulskis As a young tween, life’s turbulence often led me to pick up my pen and write poetry. I was prolific. I filled journals upon journals and clogged my phone notes with words. I started performing, and … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth dispatch from the 2024 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. For previous posts, see deadline narratives by a Wall Street Journal podcast team, the braided structure used by … Read more
By Jacqui Banaszynski A recent social media post from a journalist-turned-professor sparked my interest. The professor told a quick story about a student who went into an interview with trepidation (don’t we all?), and then was thrilled when the … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third dispatch from the 2024 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. For the others, see deadline narratives by a Wall Street Journal podcast team, and the braided structure … Read more
By Line Vaaben Much of my shaping as a journalist traces back 25 years, when I covered a deadly fire in Sweden. But it wasn’t until I returned to the scene a quarter-century later that I realized how the … Read more
By Chip Scanlan The best narrative writers know they need not just to interview after the fact, but to observe in the moment. They want to be on the scene, where they see characters and action unfold in real … Read more