How a brilliant writer can break the rules and get away with it
I saved Werner Herzog’s memoir for a year, until I would have time on vacation to thoroughly enjoy …
Here’s the path out of editing hell
Bad editing is torment. Office workers know what I am saying. After unclear initial direction, a …
When to make big decisions about your writing
Yesterday I completed final revisions on two books, both of them projects I started more than five …
Back in the trenches of local science reporting
Writing projects sometimes start at odd places. I met John Upton in a coffee shop near the Port …
My dad’s big gamble and how he told of it
As Charles's father demonstrated, quality matters even for a self-published memoir
Is a good book a window or a tile?
My son Robin was about five years old when he asked me at bedtime one night, “Is a computer screen a …
How permission can lead to more authentic truth
Winning permission to enter whaling camp and the promise of honesty
Lying in a memoir is just plain lying
My rule is extreme and increasingly unpopular. I say everything in non-fiction should be true. You …
How to record your elders’ stories before it’s too late
Generations pass on funny stories and family myths without really trying. That’s not what I’m …
The mind-meld of a great idea
Dr. David Nash and I had thought Covid had killed our book idea. But in August of 2020, we …
My first big break
Among the great (and some hilariously awful) editors I have worked with over the decades, Rebecca …
Facing the final final deadline
Dave Rose had his wry smile even as he told me why we needed to finish up his book faster than we …
Throw away your list of questions
Here are some of the rules I’ve learned from doing thousands of interviews. Real people are more …