Excellent Example from Neiman Storyboard

I appreciate writing about writing that's really worth reading. Nieman Storyboard delivers, often. I found a recent article about how to get the attention of an editor at Smithsonian magazine especially instructive.

Hope you do too!

It's hard to ignore Smithsonian's great graphics.  Cover image from the article by Katia Savchuk. 







Here's to a holiday season filled with great reading and writing.

Mini Matriculate Monday

Is Thuronyi Bluff a poker strategy, Antarctic feature, crime case?

Thank the Library of Congress for this one! 

The Science.gov site doesn't have user-friendly search, but hey, if you're looking for a way to procrastin... uh, educate yourself, scroll through the fun weekly Q&A-style trivia. 

Here's one you word-lovers might like: The answer is archaeoastronomy. Want the question? Happy hunting! 

Word Sense All Play

Join in the fray and help scientists learn whether words have anything to do with our sensory perception. It'll take 20 minutes of your time and you just might learn something.

Add Skloot to the 'Excellent Examples' List of Debut Authors

"Debut author" sounds a little bit like "overnight success." It's a label, and it doesn't say much. We must know there's a unique story behind each person we slap that label on, but slap we do.

So with due respect and admittedly not knowing her story, the label's been slapped on Rebecca Skloot. Skloot uncovered the story of Henrietta Lacks and wrote about her with integrity, determination, (a grant) and a hell of a lot of sacrifice and hard work. She ignored lots of labels along the way and cared enough to discover the unique story behind many of those labels. While reading the book, I marveled at Skloot's work at the same time I realized it paled in comparison to the amount of work Lacks did in her life. But that's just me seeing the world through my own lenses. My focus and perspective leave a lot to be desired.

Let me try again. From my writer's perspective, Skloot's account is a stellar work; it exemplifies (very) long form  journalism and historical nonfiction storytelling. Journalists, nonfiction writers, and students, please add this to your "excellent examples" list.

From my reader's perspective: damn! what a story!

 ~~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Skloot earns a spot next to Michael Lewis 

on my list of non-fiction, 

journalist/storytellers worth reading  -

and Henrietta Lacks' story was worth telling. 

A Few More Favorites in 2012

It's always hard for me to determine which article is my favorite in an issue of CJR, and this time it took longer than usual. Drum roll, please... it was this one. Most of the Nov/Dec issue focused on celebrity coverage and publicity - a faction of the trade that's not often esteemed by the newsier types. But CJR, not surprisingly, managed to address the bias, admit it, explain it, and go beyond it.

Which is why I love CJR.

And yet I'm not ready to call it my favorite magazine. It has some pretty tough competition for my reading attention as it sits next to National Geographic on my nightstand, on the car seat, and bleachers throughout the year. We're also known to pick up an issue of Scientific American or something (just a little) lighter so there's some darned fine writing at my fingertips wherever I am.

What about you? If you had to, could you pick ONE favorite thing, or o ne favorite writer, to read?  I doubt it. Look, it's practically 2013 - so how 'bout for the new year, you pick 3 (if you want to show off) or 13, and share them here. Tell me why you love them, and why the writing lands on your favorites list and your reading table.

*cheers*    

~Diane Stresing

Curriculum Resource for Children's Writers

Readers of my reading blog know I love The Why Files, now here's a reason for writers to love it too:  the awesome science team at University of Wisconsin-Madison recently highlighted its Classroom Activity Pages in its newsletter, and what a line-up! From amoebas to tsunamis, children's writers are sure to find those pages an excellent resource.
_______________________
Link not working? Here's the URL:
http://whyfiles.org/category/cap/?orderby=rand

Matriculate Monday: Science, take 2

Put away your microscope; everything you need to know to ace Vocabula Quiz number eight you (should have) learned in eighth-grade English.*


http://www.vocabula.com/quiz/show.aspx?ID=VRquiz8


*hey, eighth grade wasn't my best year

Matriculate Monday: on Science

The fifth Vocabula Quiz takes on science.  Just taking on The Vocabula Quiz Matriculate Monday challenge? I explain my (unscientific) reasoning here.

- - - Link not working? URL: http://www.vocabula.com/quiz/show.aspx?ID=VRquiz5