20 articles in this topic
I cut two hundred words of throat-clearing and the argument showed up in paragraph one — I keep a cheap reporter notebook in the bag pocket that used to hold chargers from the quiet stacks of the Brooklyn Public Library in 2019, which is where this piece actually started — not…
The headline I loved buried the thing the reader came for — I keep a cheap reporter notebook in the bag pocket that used to hold chargers from the quiet stacks of the Brooklyn Public Library in 2018, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with…
I published a correction in the first paragraph instead of a footer note — I keep a cheap reporter notebook in the bag pocket that used to hold chargers from the quiet stacks of the Brooklyn Public Library in 2017, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis…
A wire-style brief was the right shape for the outage, not a 1,200-word essay — I keep a cheap reporter notebook in the bag pocket that used to hold chargers from the quiet stacks of the Brooklyn Public Library in 2020, which is where this piece actually started — not with a…
I rewrote the same lede four times on the train and only the fourth one was honest — I keep a cheap reporter notebook in the bag pocket that used to hold chargers from the quiet stacks of the Brooklyn Public Library in 2025, which is where this piece actually started — not with…
Correction policies adapted to continuous republishing — I keep a 'killed darlings' file that is longer than some issues from a Manchester spare room that doubled as an edit bay in 2020, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a search…
Wire-style briefs returned for breaking tech outages — I start from the sentence I am avoiding and work outward from an overnight ferry where the Wi-Fi died on purpose in 2022, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a draft I loved that…
Headline testing ethics after misleading winners went viral — I print the piece and mark it with a red pen like it's 2009 from the back table of a Nairobi cafe that let me stay for hours in 2019, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a…
Bylines for collaborative AI-assisted investigations clarified — I ask one skeptical friend to read before any colleague does from a Mexico City rooftop after the rain in 2021, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a subscriber who mailed…
Long reports still beat thread dumps for policy audiences — I send a messy voice memo to myself on the walk home from a Toronto coworking loft with bad coffee and good light in 2018, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a syndication…
Why long-form writing still wins in a distracted world — I still write first drafts longhand from a borrowed desk at a Lisbon newsroom in 2017, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a 2,400-word feature that lost most readers at paragraph…
The architecture of a memorable opening paragraph — I time first drafts with a kitchen timer I bought in Osaka from a night bus between Accra and Kumasi in 2018, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a headline test that 'won' clicks and…
Headlines that respect the reader — I send a messy voice memo to myself on the walk home from a Toronto coworking loft with bad coffee and good light in 2022, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a syndication deal that looked generous…
The ethics of AI-assisted drafting — I keep a 'killed darlings' file that is longer than some issues from a Manchester spare room that doubled as an edit bay in 2024, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a search spike from a bad…
Closing essays that land — I start from the sentence I am avoiding and work outward from an overnight ferry where the Wi-Fi died on purpose in 2017, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a draft I loved that did not survive a read-aloud.…
When to use narrative versus exposition — I outline on index cards, then ignore half of them from a Chennai balcony at 5 a.m. before the heat arrived in 2021, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with an editor who asked 'what changed in the…
Voice consistency across a publication — I reread yesterday's ending before I make coffee from a Berlin courtyard office that smelled like toner in 2020, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a launch we shipped on a Friday and spent…
Editing as thinking, not cleanup — I keep a cheap reporter notebook in the bag pocket that used to hold chargers from the quiet stacks of the Brooklyn Public Library in 2019, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a comments thread that…
Building a personal canon of influences — I print the piece and mark it with a red pen like it's 2009 from the back table of a Nairobi cafe that let me stay for hours in 2023, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a workshop where nobody…
Publishing cadence without burnout — I ask one skeptical friend to read before any colleague does from a Mexico City rooftop after the rain in 2025, which is where this piece actually started — not with a thesis deck, but with a subscriber who mailed a marked-up printout with…