'People will always pay for good stories': A tech journalist's perspective with Rafe Needleman
Rafe Needleman has been covering technology for over 25 years as a journalist and communications leader. Needleman's technology journalism experience started...
Message Lab’s Ben Worthen on the enduring value of a great story, well-told
This week, I'm excited to share an interview I did recently with Ben Worthen, founder of content agency Message Lab. Ben's one of my role models in the...
21 speechwriting resources from the world conference of speechwriters
Last month, I attended the Professional Speechwriters Association's World Conference in Washington, D.C. I also attended the PSA's one-day Speechwriting...
How content builds trust: A conversation with Osano’s Julie Polito
Julie Polito is the Head of Brand + Content Communications at Osano, a leading data privacy SaaS company. I’ve known Julie for many years now. In her career,...
What matters now
As I sit at my desk this morning, I am thinking about what really matters. Peace. Honest, clear communication. Showing respect for all people, and making an...
Quentin Hardy on helping companies find ‘story-market fit’
Quentin Hardy has written about business, finance, and technology for some of the world’s leading publications and served as head of editorial for Google...
Beyond spellcheck: Alex Sventeckis on the value of AI and good editing
As a writer and consultant, Alex Sventeckis has crafted compelling content and built expert content teams for companies in B2B tech, physical/cybersecurity,...
Self-portrait with eyes closed
This is a self-portrait I drew in a minute or so with my eyes closed. I made this a couple of years ago during a group Zoom activity at work. (We were also...
Write with me!
Over the next three months, I am offering a series of writing circles designed especially for people who write at work: journalists, PR pros, marketing...
Storyline: Deepfakes and deep mistrust
I'm thinking about a storyline that has come up multiple times this summer: How the mere existence of AI sows distrust. If I were pitching a news story or...
What is a storyline?
When searching for a name for this newsletter, I kept returning to “Storylines” because I felt like it reflected the essence of my work. My favorite jobs...
8 generative AI prompts to help you write better
Last week I wrote about how I use AI for writing. This week I’d like to share some detailed tips and prompts that have worked for me and other writers. The...
I'm thinking about starting a community
Would you be interested in joining a community of Storylines subscribers? This would be a place for writers, editors, and potentially creators of all types...
How I use AI for writing
A burning question for anyone in the content business is this: Will AI replace me? In the short term, it’s certainly having a sharply negative effect on...
Don't panic.
It’s July, and things are moving slowly in my neighborhood. The sun came up right on schedule this morning at 6:03. I know it happened, because I was there,...
Embracing the Zen of collaborative writing
I jumped into a writing career right out of college because I was jazzed about the potential for self-expression, and because I was getting hooked on the...
Writing together in series and parallel
Originally published June 13, 2024 on CoAuthored by Foster For me, the word “writer” has long called to mind the archetype of a poet in a lonely garret,...
25 things I learned in 25 years of newsletter publishing
In today’s writing circle, fellow writer Alicia asked me if I had just recently launched my newsletter. “No,” I said, “I’ve been publishing it in one form or...
The top tools for collaborative writing, part 2: Project management and publishing
In my previous post, I talked about the top tools content pros use for writing and editing. But collaborative writing goes beyond the mere creation of...
The top tools for collaborative writing, part 1: Writing and editing
What tools do you need to make a collaborative writing project successful? At the most basic level, the minimum requirements are a word processor and some...