How to Cover Washington Politicians in an Innovative Way
In Washingtonian magazine this month, New York Times book critic Carlos Lozada discussed how he turns the straw of reading political memoirs into the gold of an art form. Read more
Writing
As I Please: On Commemorating Edgar Allan Poe and “Norma Rae”
Today marks what would be the 215th birthday of writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe. He is the rare writer whose Romantic and Gothic stories about death, subjectivity, rationality, and despair were so good I can remember where I was when I read them. Read more
As I Please: The 1970s Edition
The inaugural column is meant to be short versions of what magazine editors used to call “brights”—upbeat, inspiring, or humorous articles. Read more
How Stephen King’s On Writing Can Help You Crank Out a Book (Review #5)
Many people think we writers are pretentious know-it-alls. With this in mind, you might think bookshelves are buckling are under the weight of writing-as-a-craft memoirs. But you would be wrong. They aren’t. Which helps explain the appeal of Mr. King’s book. Read more
How to Convey Sensory Experience like Better Call Saul
The AMC series “Better Call Saul” combined sight and sound better than any I can recall. Take, for instance, the scene that commentators and analyzers have been extolling since it aired—the Howard Hamlin beach scene. Read more
For Writer’s Block, Take Two Treatments
The root of writer’s block is organizational rather than romantic. Some writers imagine themselves as uniquely tortured souls, like Prometheus chained to a rock while an eagle devoured his liver every day. The reality is, they are poor administrators. They lack a reliable technique to produce good first drafts. Read more
Give a Devil Her Due: “Bad Blood” on Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes
Author John Carreyrou’s fairness toward Elizabeth Holmes is the defining feature of “Bad Blood.” It raises the stakes. The story is more than that of a corporate crook and fraudster. It’s also the story of a young woman who could have done good but did bad instead. Read more
The Best Book on Jonestown Came Out in 1982. That’s a Problem.
Has the country learned little about Jonestown except for its mass-murdering cult leader? The public deserves — yes, deserves — stories in which the monster that was Jim Jones is put in the context of other lead players. Read more
How a Yellow Pen Can Prevent a Common Writing Mistake
A mere two days after my post on factual errors appeared, in my day job I made an error of a different kind. I used a simple catchall phrase to describe a Washington-based interest group. In fact, the organization had a slightly more elevated function, which made my error akin to describing the Supreme Court as a body of federal judges. Read more
How to Interview a Senator or Congressman
Interviewing high-level government officials is a skill that can be cultivated like shooting a basketball or grilling a hamburger. It doesn’t require being a suck-up, an insider, or a seducer. If a former paperboy like me can learn, most people can. Read more