OnPoint Radio Series on the Conference

Press Release From On Point

Earlier this month, some of the country's best writers met in
Cambridge, Massachusetts for the 2003 Nieman Conference on
Narrative Journalism to share their best work. As part of a
continuing tradition, On Point brings you a selection of their stories
from across the country, delivered in the authors' own voices. The
conference was organized by Harvard University's Nieman
Foundation for Journalism
.

In Part I of the series we hear from New Yorker writer Susan Orlean,
UC Berkeley's Cynthia Gorney, author and journalist Adrianne
Nicole LeBlanc, and Pulitzer Prize winning journalists Thomas
French, Sonia Nazario, Jacqui Banasynski and Victor Merina.

In Part II of the series we hear from independent broadcast
journalist and four-time Peabody Award winner Jay Allison,
Washington Post's Anne Hull, director of the Neiman Program on
Narrative Journalism Mark Kramer, co-founder of Mother Jones
Magazine Adam Hochschild, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Samantha Power, writer Arlie Hochschild and Columbia University's
Patricia Williams.

Posted in about the conference, speakers.Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, speakers.Anne Hull, speakers.Arlie Hothschild, speakers.Cynthia Gorney, speakers.Jacqui Banaszynski, speakers.Jay Allison, speakers.Mark Kramer, speakers.Patricia Williams, speakers.Samantha Power, speakers.Sonia Nazario, speakers.Susan Orlean, speakers.Tom French, speakers.Victor Merina on December 12, 2003 at 05:14 PM | Permalink

Following Susan Orlean’s Earlier Advice That You Might Choose to Describe a Single Physical Feature of a Character, Sort Of

By Geo Beach

Susan Orlean
Susan Orlean

“I don’t think love is silly.”
-- Susan Orlean, “Writing with and about passion” [Nieman Narrative Conference closing keynote session]

Even in a large, high-ceiling ballroom, Susan Orlean’s mouth kisses the back row.

They’re wet kisses.

Her lips are far more red even than her hair, and they are caricatured, inflated, enough to serve as arched eyebrow and wink, toss of tresses, shrug, sway, foot-tap. Breath and swallow, bit lip and lick, valuable purse. Susan Orlean’s lips are twisted into a comma at one corner, at both corners then, and mark an apologetic quote, the wry shared words that become now a mutual friend.

And her lips are the world that has swept in, spinning out yarns the whole nine yards of whole cloth. No, not that. Her mouth is not clichéd.

Susan Orlean smiles a Hollywood projector but not mere incisors, remember, a smile happens everyplace else, cheek, chin, the delta of experience that flows from a blue pupil lateral to her temple. Her dimple is an edit, the thing more beautiful because something is taken away.

Her lips make words. Her mouth loves, telling stories.

“And during the next song she crossed the room and kissed me.” -- from “Devotion Road” [“Passion” session closing quote]

Independent journalist Geo Beach contributes commentaries to NPR, columns to the Anchorage Daily News, and essays to TomPaine.com.

Posted in character, profiles, scenes, sessions.Making It Matter, speakers.Susan Orlean, writing with passion on December 12, 2003 at 05:14 PM | Permalink

Raising Your Voice: Who speaks when you write?

By Neil Shea

To hear Mark Kramer and Susan Orlean tell it, finding your writerly voice involves a lot of self-editing.

Voice drifts through our narratives, and whether we realize it or not, readers respond to the author’s voice, drawing conclusions about his personality and even the story itself. So, says Kramer, voice should appear “like the casual walk of a tightrope walker.” Voice should seem simple and read easily, but it should carry the weight of your training, experience and authority with a subject.

To get to this sublime level of “voice” we must pare down our writing and make it clear and clean. Get rid of abstractions, unclutter the text or the meaning—and the voice—remain hidden. Intense self-editing leads to self-discovery and to a better understanding of voice.

In the search for voice, Susan Orlean recommends thinking about how you would explain an exciting or interesting story to your friends. Or read your piece aloud to divine your voice. Ask, who is speaking here? Am I writing with a patchwork voice that I picked up along the way? Some jumble of newspaper-voice mixed in with the voice of a writer I admire? Read and edit your work closely, learn to identify your crutches or gimmicks.

Voice is a tool and sometimes a trap. Thinking too much about voice pushes some writers to choose first person narratives—even when first person isn't a good fit for the story. Well done, voice gives readers a feeling of connection with the author without the need for “I”. Orlean and Kramer don’t believe writers can invent voices for themselves. It is more than words on a page. It is the subtle thing that allows us to guide and accompany our readers, even though we're not sitting next to them. That's why, Orlean says, "understanding who you are and why you're a writer is a big part of this."

Neil Shea is a reporter for The Providence Journal.

Posted in editing narrative, sessions.Raising Your Voice, speakers.Mark Kramer, speakers.Susan Orlean, voice on December 12, 2003 at 05:14 PM | Permalink

Control Your Sentences

By Matt Thompson

Mundane Nuts & Bolts Tips for Controlling Sentences by Mark Kramer:

  • Virtually ban "to be" in all its forms. Mark Kramer: "'Is-ness' is the donkey by which meaning is conveyed in saddlebags."
  • Mark Kramer grants you a crate loaded with full stops. There are literally trillions of periods in there. When they run out, he says, e-mail for more.
  • Get rid of abstract verbs like "presents" or "suggests." One you get strong verbs in your sentences, your style will take care of itself.
  • Go down low on the ladder of abstraction -- not "creature," not "cow," but "Old Bossy."
  • No clichés: Kramer's convinced that nothing is whiter than snow.
  • Give up the words "when" and "as." Transform simultaneity into action, unless simultaneity is the purpose.

Matt Thompson is a reporter for Poynter Online.

Posted in sessions.Raising Your Voice, speakers.Mark Kramer, speakers.Susan Orlean, style, voice on December 12, 2003 at 05:14 PM | Permalink