October 8th, 2018 • Quill Archives
When approaching a story, you must play your cards right
About a year ago I began playing a card game that offers lessons for reporters and writers. How we approach and structure a story reminds me of how I decide what to bid while playing Pitch. The simple game is similar to poker.
June 18th, 2018 • Quill Blog, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Turn your ideas into stories
During my 40 years in the business, I’ve learned to listen to anyone who tells me they have a story. Great stories come unannounced, like a soft tap on the door. You need to be alert to that sound. The series that turned out to be the story that won me the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 2001 came from a telephone call to me from a reader.
November 2nd, 2017 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Energize yourself with a new writing approach
I wrote in the last issue about a young reporter who discovered the critical importance of picking the right character upon which to build a story. Now I want to introduce you to Jen Kocher, a reporter for a weekly newspaper in Wyoming.
August 28th, 2017 • Quill Archives
Storytelling: Good in theory and in practice
When I studied martial arts, I spent hours practicing technique. In a controlled environment, it was magic. But each student wondered if it would work on the street. And so it is with narrative storytelling. At writing conferences, we study handouts and discuss stories that have been reported, written and published — what happens back in the newsroom.
June 14th, 2017 • Quill Archives
Storytelling: After Reporting, Pause And Process Before Writing
After more than 18 months of reporting, the top of my desk was crowded with files containing notes, observations and transcripts of multiple interviews. Now it was time to stop reporting and begin writing. My hands hovered over the keyboard. Hmm, better get some coffee.
April 13th, 2017 • Quill Archives
Storytelling: Report For Meaning To Find Heart And Soul
If we all agree that a good story is built on good reporting, then it follows that good reporting requires good questions. But what does that mean? A storyteller reports on three levels: 1) The most basic of facts: Gathering names, correct spelling and the news, or what makes the event special.
February 21st, 2017 • Quill Archives
Storytelling: Think Musically To Create With Purpose
Last December, I took vacation, pulled out one of my guitars from the closet and began playing again after a long hiatus. There is a writing lesson here, I promise. After strumming a few songs, I decided to get serious and go back to learning and then practicing my scales.
November 10th, 2016 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
From time to time I receive emails from young journalists who want to eventually move into feature reporting, but they find themselves on a beat where they tell me they have no chance to work on storytelling skills. My first gig was at a weekly newspaper where I covered four small towns.
February 17th, 2016 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
The New Year is less than a month old as I write this column, but I’m in a reflective mood. I hope it reaches a young reporter, perhaps someone at a weekly or small outlet, at your first “real” job after college.
December 15th, 2015 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
My storytelling philosophy is simple: Look at every story, whether it’s breaking news, an assignment or something off the beat, as a way to practice narrative reporting, structuring and writing. Doing so gets you familiar with the art and craft of what it takes to tell a compelling story.
October 22nd, 2015 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
The idea bounced around the newsroom and ended up in my in-box: A family of a terminally ill girl was going to throw a birthday party for her in one week. I was assigned to the story. I want to use my approach to the story to discuss story thinking and structure, as it relates to both reporting and writing.
August 17th, 2015 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
I’d just returned from SPJ’s New York City JournCamp program in June when I received an email that serves as a reminder of why on-going training is vital for those of us in this business. Hi, Tom. I don’t know if you remember me.
April 3rd, 2015 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
When you think about where your story starts, I bet many of you believe it’s when you’re at the computer crafting that perfect opening. In truth, the story starts with the interview. And if you can’t get the interview, you can’t write the story.
February 3rd, 2015 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
This being the first column of 2015, it’s a good time to help you get back to understanding the basic building blocks required to report, structure and write a story. The best way to do that is to tell you about the struggles I had with the last story I wrote in 2014.
December 9th, 2014 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
I see them walk nervously into the room, unsure why they signed up for a series of writing classes I teach. This isn’t at a community college but an athletic club that also offers classes on bridge, dance and guitar. Not one majored in journalism in college.
October 22nd, 2014 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
I returned hom from the SPJ/RTDNA Excellence in Journalism conference in Nashville with a sense that the future is in good hands despite the turmoil in our industry. At the same time, I’m convinced that journalists are going to have to work harder to create and sustain long-term careers that are both rewarding and meaningful.
September 2nd, 2014 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
When my colleague stopped in the managing editor’s office to discuss a story, it was just the police scanner and me nearby, the start of what looked to be a quiet Monday morning. Then everything changed. You likely heard the rest on the news, or reported it yourself: a shooting at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Ore.,
June 20th, 2014 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
In a previous column I turned to readers to see if any wanted to participate in an on-going experiment to help writers make the leap from news to features, and from features to narrative. We work in a cluttered and competitive media world, battling for the attention of consumers who can choose radio, television, hundreds of newspaper sites and websites that aggregate news.
April 9th, 2014 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
With this column, I’m launching something that will be an added feature. Yes, I’m going to continue discussing specific writing techniques and thoughts writers can use to improve their narrative attempts. But I’ve heard from many new writers who want to get started.
February 12th, 2014 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
One of my goals with this column is to strip away the mystery and intrigue that so often surrounds writing. Because writers are insecure about what we do, it’s easy to feel as if the hand of God touched only a select few who are simply so brilliant that it would be folly for anyone to attempt what they do.
December 20th, 2013 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
Stripping out expectations of news writing By Tom Hallman Jr. In past columns I’ve written about the use of voice and why it matters in your stories. Scenic structure, theme and character are critical elements in a powerful narrative. So, too, is the use of voice.
October 15th, 2013 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
As happens at any journalism conference, some of the most powerful conversations occur in coffee shops, bars and hotel lobbies long after the formal seminar is over. Away from the crowd, people feel free to ask the kinds of questions that touch on their concerns as they move forward in an industry that’s changing — and will continue to change dramatically in the coming months and years.
September 5th, 2013 • Education Toolbox, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Education Toolbox
Just when curriculums started getting their arms around multimedia storytelling — a slow and sometimes painful journey — a new bully showed up in the schoolyard: data. Not that the idea of telling compelling stories using data is new. It’s not.
September 5th, 2013 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
I recently heard a song that made me think about writing. Performed by Wooden Wand, “Winter in Kentucky” features character and a story, and it left me thinking about the twists and turns in a life. After hearing it, I thought about the lessons we can take away from songs as writers.
June 6th, 2013 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
When you sit down to finally write, it’s natural to plunge in and think of the story in terms of reporting — flipping through your notebook for a great quote — and working to craft a snappy lead. That’s fine when it comes to breaking news and briefs, but for a feature you need to think differently.
April 10th, 2013 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
Since my teammates were working on other stories, it fell to me to grab the press release, scan the information and write something to post to the Web. I made a call, got a quote and within 15 minutes had this on the paper’s site: Authorities took a 2-year-old boy into protective custody Wednesday after police found his mother had died, apparently two days ago, of natural causes inside her Southeast Portland home, the Portland Police Bureau reported.
April 10th, 2013 • Narrative Writing Toolbox
Digital Media Toolbox
If you haven’t seen The New York Times’ amazing online package from Dec. 20 titled “Snow Fall,” you should. The article is about a devastating avalanche in February 2012 at the Tunnel Creek section of Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains of Washington.
February 7th, 2013 • Narrative Writing Toolbox, Words & Language Toolbox
Words and Language Toolbox
You know that weird phenomenon wherein you say a word over and over, and suddenly it doesn’t seem a word at all, just an unintelligible collection of letters? It can be any word — trilogy, say, or bunkhouse, or millisecond. You repeat it until your synapses stop firing or whatever, and you slap yourself in the head and say trilogy — wait, is that even a word?
February 7th, 2013 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
When you’re a reporter, there comes a time in your career when you have to knock on a stranger’s door. The questions you ask and the answers you receive will linger long after the “news” is over. The news of the mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.,
December 5th, 2012 • Quill Archives, Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
In a profession that often seems gloomy, I offer an optimistic column containing a lesson for all of us, but especially for young reporters. A while ago I ran into a woman I casually know. She told me her daughter was majoring in journalism and was looking for job leads in anticipation of graduation.
October 3rd, 2012 • Narrative Writing Toolbox, Words & Language Toolbox
Words and Language Toolbox
Staff cutbacks have greatly affected media editing as well as writing and reporting — and we see the unfortunate consequence everywhere. The mistakes range from grammar to structure to the more challenging areas of organization, logic and reason. The best defense against embarrassing errors in language basics — grammar, spelling, punctuation — is for writers and reporters to submit more polished and professional work, at least in terms of simple mechanics.
October 3rd, 2012 • Narrative Writing Toolbox
Narrative Writing Toolbox
One of the joys I get from writing this column is the opportunity to engage in conversations with readers who not only write me, but who also include a telephone number because they want to talk. As our industry deals with buyouts, furloughs and tight budgets, we have fewer opportunities to meet at conferences or training sessions.
