Category Archives: Uncategorized

Roberts' Rules of writing and reporting.

Gene Roberts’ first editor was blind but it didn’t deter him from teaching the young reporter out of the University of North Carolina one of the most valuable lessons of his long, storied career. “Make me see,” the editor of … Continue reading

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The 'nut' of the matter.

If, threatened with waterboarding, I were forced to choose the biggest writing problem I see, it would be the nut graf. It’s talked about a lot in Craft classes but I still find myself questioning students about why their stories … Continue reading

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Nocera's Nuggets: A primer on reporting.

Joe Nocera, the Times’ business columnist, Tuesday presented a primer on reporting to Tim Harper’s Craft Class. The veteran business writer and columnist has covered everyone from Boone Pickens (from his Texas oil-patch days) to Steve Jobs (who called Nocera … Continue reading

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Keep it simple and strong.

We’re not against long sentences here but too often writers lose their way and don’t understand the story they’re trying to tell the reader, if you get what I mean, hopefully, as scribes pile on the clauses, modifiers, punctuation and … Continue reading

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The Wrong Stuff Bad Writing Contest!

We like to celebrate good writing and reporting in this space.  But there’s much to learn, too, from bad writing.  Many of you probably are aware of the annual Bulwer-Lytton Bad Writing Contest, which parodies  the 19th century English novelist … Continue reading

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David Foster Wallace (R.I.P.) and you.

When the news broke a month ago about David Foster Wallace’s suicide, I realized I didn’t know his work except for a riveting essay on tennis great Roger Federer.  Since then, I’ve read countless appreciations of Wallace, who  taught creative … Continue reading

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The details of good writing.

We constantly stress the need to capture as much telling detail as possible in your reporting.  The more specific the details, the better your writing will be, transporting your reader inside the scene or action.  Mathew Warren did that splendidly … Continue reading

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George Orwell is watching over you.

Read good writing anywhere you can find it — in novels, newspapers, magazines and online. Then ask why it works.  That’s a principle espoused here to help you improve.  A corollary is to read, and heed, the advice of some … Continue reading

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Panic on deadline II

Panic on deadline! You’re about to tackle your first deadline assignment, and your palms are beginning to sweat. Don’t fret, it happens to all of us. Here are some tips we shared last year.

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May 2, 2008

There’s a tradition among journalists of “collecting string,” facts and impressions gathered in daily reporting that can become the stuff of a far larger story with wider sweep and a richer texture. Here’s how Jere Hester describes the practice: “Fill … Continue reading

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