Recently, while out with a writer friend, I asked what she’d been up to lately. “Today I finally found the lede for the story I’m working on,” she said. She paused a moment. “Isn’t that the best feeling? When you find your lede?”
For those of you not familiar with “lede,” it’s a word some nonfiction writers use for a story’s beginning. And yes, when you find your story’s beginning, the true, right beginning, it’s an exhilarating moment, indeed. Continue reading “The Opening”
From our 14th-floor conference room window in midtown Manhattan, I looked down to see about twenty people frantically trying to lift a black SUV. Continue reading “Stories. Everywhere.”
Last year, when I started planning my summer reading list, I decided—instead of combing the usual lists of Great Beach/Hammock/Backyard Reads—to follow the advice of author Melissa Harris-Perry, to read books recommended by people under the age of 18. Continue reading “Summer Reading Suggestions”