There is, maybe, a romanticized ideal of the Writer as a lone genius. This perfect Writer, whoever they may be, has no need for clients or editors, outlines or drafts. Sitting at their desk, or maybe in a coffee shop, they have an idea, spin up the perfect prose, and send it out to be […]
I’ve never thought much about how different people approach reading horror stories. After all, I don’t write scary stories. But I recently attended an event celebrating the Centennial Anniversary of the Poe Museum in Richmond, Va., and someone posed the question: What kind of story gives children goosebumps? What type frightens a teenager? I’m sure […]
What’s the fastest way a journalism major can fail an assignment in news writing class? Spell a proper name incorrectly. As far as my journalism school professors were concerned, misspelling your interviewee’s name was a cardinal sin – and it earned an automatic F. It didn’t matter if your reporting was stellar, if the piece […]
Wouldn’t it be great if knowledge worked by osmosis? It would be so convenient if you could just absorb information by proximity and become an immediate expert. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work that way. Becoming knowledgeable enough about a topic to credibly write about it takes a lot of effort and research – but that’s […]
