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Author Archives: Heath Meriwether
Shed your assumptions about what's expected.
After a two-month immersion into grading admissions tests for the Class of 2011, your humble Write Stuff scribe is ready to think and talk about writing again. Shed your assumptions: That’s one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever … Continue reading
Posted in Writing Advice
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The magic of mystery in your writing.
Here at the Write Stuff, we see a lot of leads that try to do too much. But as the weeks go by, we’re noticing more students who’ve discovered the magic of mystery. Rather than cramming every theme and angle … Continue reading
Posted in Writing Good Leads
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An excellent adventure in reporting, Part II
Valerie Lapinski fell in love with Studs Terkel’s work a few years ago when she was preparing a radio series about jobs in a small southeast Alaska town. Little did she dream then that the death last year of the … Continue reading
Posted in Writing Advice
Tagged Andy Lehren, FBI profiling, FOIA requests, investigative reporting, Jere Hester, Studs Terkel, Valerie Lapinski
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What's different about blog writing, and what's not.
Space. Time. Shape. Interactive professor Jeremy Caplan used those three words to explain the differences in how we write for online or for print. In a follow-up to Trudy Lieberman’s discussion last week, we found Caplan’s descriptions quite useful in … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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A long-time print journalist finds her voice in blog.
When Trudy Lieberman started a blog on health care coverage two years ago for the Columbia Journalism Review, she felt like she’d been let out of prison. Suddenly, after four decades confined to the strictures of print journalism — 5W’s, … Continue reading
Get active to improve your writing.
“Reduced to its essence, a good English sentence is a statement that an agent (the subject of the sentence) performed an action (the verb) upon something (the object).” — John Ciardi, American poet and writing teacher “Those of us lucky … Continue reading
Posted in Writing Advice
Tagged "to be" verb forms, active verbs, active voice, jack hart, john ciardi, passive voice
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The secret to getting published.
Mike Reicher followed up on a tip to the Times’ Metro desk. Eleanor Miller used a cold-call e-mail to pitch the Brooklyn Rail. Emily Johnson walked in the door of the Canarsie Courier and talked to two of their editors. … Continue reading
Posted in Getting Published.
Tagged best strategies, Eleanor Miller, Emily Johnson, how to make a pitch, Mike Reicher, tips for pitches
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Make sure your quotes help tell the story.
It’s important to be selective about the quotes you use in stories. Too many stories get larded with quotes that don’t advance the story, quotes that provide information rather than insight into a character, a cause or a theme. Our … Continue reading