Articles

Reporters Read From Their Narrative Articles

During the conference, there would come a time each day when writers would share their narrative writings with participants who wanted to listen. And many did. The hundreds of chairs…
March 15, 2002
Isabel Wilkerson

Scenes, Suspense and Character

‘Everything really boils down to one or another of those three things.’
March 15, 2002
Adam Hochschild

‘Writing is all about rewriting, which means you’ve got to get something down.’

Steps for Managing Your Stories Lower your standards. Get something down. Swallow the bile that rises in your throat when you write a first draft. Print out early. Read aloud.…
March 15, 2002
Chip Scanlan

Finding Time to Write

Hold yourself accountable. Get your work on paper.
March 15, 2002
Stewart O’Nan

‘Very few writers understand that a story has an arc, not just a beginning, a middle, and an end.’

Jim CollinsThese are things I have learned from my best writers, and now I pass them on to you in 10 lessons.Voice is important, seductive, subversive and can be crucial.…
March 15, 2002
Jim Collins
Be a Reporter, Not a Guest

Be a Reporter, Not a Guest

Interview time is not social time, and a mistake that younger narrative reporters frequently make is to be too nice and too obliging and to act too much like the…
March 15, 2002
Mark Kramer

‘Reporting is the key to good journalism.’

Steven A. HolmesIn daily journalism, you often don’t get a lot of time. But in trying to cover the lives of ordinary people and make it news, your best friend…
March 15, 2002
Steven A. Holmes

Peeling the Onion

Seven Steps of Interviewing
March 15, 2002

Writing About Ordinary Lives

‘I wanted to move the realm of curiosity into the lives of people who had been ignored….’
March 15, 2002
Gay Talese

Filling a Notebook With Narrative

Select a good topic. Secure good access. Find good narrative runs. Find character hints in action. Find the right scene details. Find emotionality for your subjects, not for you. Do…
March 15, 2002