By Esther Wei-Yun Landhuis In spring 2020, while some FaceTimed or baked bread or pursued other pandemic hobbies, I bought an electronic drum kit. I watched YouTube to learn some basic rock beats. Before long, I was jamming to … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: Christian Lupsa attended a Taylor Swift concert Aug. 3, 2024, in Warsaw Poland. He wrote about the experience as part of his weekly “Draft Four” Substack essay. Read more
By Sophia Chen Last autumn I traveled with two friends, Monique and Jacob, to a cabin in the western mountains of Maine. We called it a writing retreat. Monique brought books on craft; I carried around more pens than … Read more
A speechwriter, a couple of jazz geniuses and the 44th president of the United States. That would be an enticing dinner-party guest list. As it turns out, it’s also an intriguing source of writing insight published last month in … Read more
It would have been easy but discouraging to spend an entire year of Storyboard featuring stories about homelessness, climate woes and, of course, COVID-19. It would be tempting to identify the stand-outs among those, which are many, in my … Read more
In the mood for a musical interlude — one that doesn’t involve the endless loop of holiday classics? Consider “The Beatles: Get Back,” running now on Disney+. (Don’t have Disney+? Find a friend or relative with young … Read more
First, let’s get this out of the way: Rumors of Gordon Lightfoot’s death, which have circulated on social media for 20 years now, continue to be premature. Apparently the Canadian balladeer, who turned 84 this week, plans to keep … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: Last week and this, we’re offering support to editors and educators for how to guide writers through an effective nut graf — however you spell it and whatever you call it. Go to the homepage for recent articles … Read more
This week we celebrated the vernal equinox, this moment of rebirth and hope as we ease out of winter. (Of course, New England got hit with another snowstorm, as if winter was all Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction” and “I … Read more
Why is it great? This is the first lyric to feature on “One Great Sentence,” and of course it had to be Springsteen. I chose this not because it’s my … Read more
