Roy has taught writing at every level--to school children and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors--for more than 30 years, and has spoken about the writer's craft on The Oprah Winfrey Show, NPR and Today; at conferences from Singapore to Brazil; and at news organizations from The New York Times to the Sowetan in South Africa. He is the author of "Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer," the book and the blog.
All big political wars are fought more often with words than with weapons.
Your “terrorist,” so the saying goes, is my “freedom fighter.”
Your “illegal alien” may be my “undocumented worker.”
Editor’s note: This essay represents the personal and professional opinions of Roy Peter Clark and should not be used to characterize the opinions of Poynter or the standards and practices of Poynter.org.
It is time to decriminalize certain practices now … Read more
All writers learn that it is not possible or desirable to control how a reader responds to story, or even a sentence. But you can influence reader response, and you should.
How your reader responds is a crucial consequence of … Read more
Today is National Grammar Day, a special holiday for someone — namely me — who has written a book titled “The Glamour of Grammar.”
That title still puzzles some people who think of grammar as a creaky old … Read more
Every writer faces problems. In the most recent I’ll help you figure out solutions.
Much of the advice I’ll give will derive from my book, “Help! For Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces,” which just … Read more
The recent passing of former New York mayor Ed Koch reminded me of one of my favorite feature leads of all time, written in 1980 by one of the AP’s all-time greats, Saul Pett:
“NEW YORK — He is the
… Read more
In a recent essay, I described how Tom French and I wrote our books using what I called “the buddy system.” In response, one writer tweeted: “Wish I had a buddy.”
So where do you find a buddy? And … Read more
I first learned the phrase “buddy system” in Boy Scouts as a safe way of learning to swim. If a buddy was nearby, he could help save you from drowning.
Drowning is not a bad metaphor for parts … Read more
Originally published January 19, 2003, this essay by Roy Peter Clark describes the relationship between Eugene Patterson, who died Jan. 12 at the age of 89, and Martin Luther King Jr., whose life and legacy is celebrated today.… Read more
I began work at the Poynter Institute in 1979. My first assignment was to edit a collection of prizewinning newspaper stories. ASNE had just introduced their distinguished writing awards, honoring four ink-stained wretches. My job was to select the best … Read more