Finding pockets of joy in the job
By Jacqui Banaszynski The email arrived almost two weeks ago. I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t yet found a good response. It was sent by a talented young freelancer I met in one of my writing...
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What happens to crime scene investigators who have to see the unseeable?
By Chip Scanlan Legend has it that Tom Wolfe, the New Journalism pioneer whose stories regularly presented his characters’ points of view, was once challenged by a critic who demanded to know how he...
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A longform editor on immersive storytelling and its role in journalism
By Ania Hull David Wolf has been editor of the Long Read since the UK-based Guardian launched the section 10 years ago. The Long Read world sounds like a dream for those of us who love longform...
View ArticleAn imprint of journalistic values
By Jacqui Banaszynski This past weekend, I attended a “golden era” reunion of newsroom staffers from the Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon. Fourteen hours of driving, much of it in gridlock freeway...
View ArticleThe demands on story craft in crucible times
By Jacqui Banaszynski That political hangover I mentioned several days ago, as I braced for the first (and maybe last) presidential debate of this fraught election season, has turned into a full-blown...
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Effective editing: Trust and Ted Lasso-style cheerleading
EDITOR’S NOTE: For other posts in the occasional series about effective editing, read our interviews with Mike Wilson of The New York Times, Scott Stossel of The Atlantic and Lynda Robinson of The...
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Effective editing: Navigating failures of the military’s mental health system
By Carly Stern Alexandra Zayas caught the journalism bug as a kid growing up in Miami, Florida, following some of big news events of the time. From there, journalism school, several years reporting at...
View ArticleA spotlight on the art of the interview
By Kim Cross Interviewing for narrative is like hunting for something in a pitch-black warehouse with nothing more than a flashlight. It’s a good flashlight — with a head you can twist to change the...
View ArticleThe art of the narrative interview: Pre-interviewing for a successful pitch
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...
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The art of the narrative interview: Finding the story’s arc
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...
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The art of the narrative interview: Sequencing your story
EDITOR’S NOTE: The fourth post in our series on narrative interviewing describes how a reporter begins to zoom in to explore defining moments and plot points in a character’s story. Previous posts...
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The art of the narrative interview: Filling in scenic details
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...
View Article“Go out, little book, into the world.”
I often ask the journalists I work with who they write for. A more productive way of framing that question is to ask who they envision as the audience for their essay or magazine story or book. Who do...
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How a reporter glimpsed the future of America in a crystal-ball city
By Trevor Pyle For almost a year, George Packer — a writer for The Atlantic and winner of the National Book Award — told people he was working on a long-form story about Phoenix, Arizona. The response...
View ArticleHow audience can guide your writing
By Jacqui Banaszynski A recent post I wrote prompted a response that merits its own response. The first is a thank-you to the writer. Whether feedback is a smooch or a spanking, I’ve been in the biz...
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Reporting beyond shame and blame, secrets and stereotypes
By Kim Cross I don’t go to church, but I am a religious reader of The Sunday Long Read, which arrives in my inbox each Sunday like a menu of the week’s best long-form stories. I peruse the choices —...
View Article“Besides, there’s more room …”
By Jacqui Banaszynski I didn’t know the woman honored in an essay in the Phoenix Spirit, a Minnesota-based publication focused on emotional and spiritual health. Even after reading it, I only knew her...
View ArticleA writer’s hack: Productive procrastination
By Jacqui Banaszynski My garage-cleaning project continues to be a tomorrow thing. To ease my guilt a bit, I am tapping a sure-fire procrastinator’s trick: Do some other thing that sort of needs to be...
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Reporting the long arc of trauma recovery
By Mallary Tenore Tarpley Seattle Times intern Xavier Martinez grew up mountain biking on the eastern slopes of Washington’s Cascades mountain range and remembers being “terrified” of encountering a...
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Storytelling moves from Taylor Swift
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. It is republished,...
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