Link: The tension between telling a story and telling readers what is going on
An article by Chip Scanlan at Nieman Storyboard displays an insider’s knowledge of the nut graf, the part of a journalistic article that explains to the read...
An article by Chip Scanlan at Nieman Storyboard displays an insider’s knowledge of the nut graf, the part of a journalistic article that explains to the read...
Nature Genetics has a remarkable editorial in the current issue that makes a point of criticizing citation practices by authors in “articles we have recently...
Some words of advice from Steven Pinker about writing, in this interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education. I like the diagnosis:
Joli Jensen in ChronicleVitae: “It’s time to demolish the magnum opus myth”.
The Paris Review interview of E. B. White has several good passages about writing. Here’s one:
From the preface of Mankind in the Making, by H. G. Wells:
Rachel Toor writes in the Chronicle of Higher Education in favor of academics finding a more polished approach to their prose: “Becoming a stylish writer”.
Alison Flood in the Guardian notes the scientific interests of celebrated novelist Cormac McCarthy: “Cormac McCarthy’s parallel career revealed as a scienti...
The Paris Review has a long interview with writer John McPhee (“The Art of Nonfiction No. 3, John McPhee”). I like the writer interviews they have, and it is...
Re: The ‘amazing’ Boskops:
Writer Harlan Ellison has been saying goodbye to fans, according to the Madison independent paper, Isthmus. The interview is interesting, including this part...
Claire Evans interviews author Ursula K. LeGuin. It’s mostly about LeGuin’s outspoken opposition to the Google copyright grab:
It’s that time of year again, when students all over the country are facing their first writing assignment. I always encourage a bloggy style – concise, jour...
Since I’ve already contributed to bellyaching about student writing assignments, it’s only fair to point to a Wired article that says students are getting b...
College classes are starting around the country, but writing assignments haven’t been submitted yet. Time to brace yourself – Stanley Fish blogs about what c...
I didn’t notice myself, but a number of writers have been pointing out the fiftieth anniversary of a familiar classic, Strunk and White’s The Elements of Sty...
I’ve received a tremendous response to my essay earlier this week, the first part of my series on blogging and tenure. I wanted to thank everyone for their c...
Ann Althouse links to Kurt Vonnegut’s “How to write with style,”, which deserves to be linked.