What’s On Your Desk?
Phil has a box of chocolates, a coat hanger and a roll of loo paper
The Editor Asked Me to Ghostwrite His Wife's Story
Posted this on LinkedIn and received some rather strange comments
How to keep track of your writing project so you don’t edit the wrong version
This is the formula I use to avoid wailing and gnashing of teeth
Why I bought a typewriter, and what I use it for
Sometimes, in fact quite often, the computer and iPhone do my head in.
An Interviewer Who Never Meant To Be Published
William Drummond was just writing notes in his diary.
How to avoid distraction?
I’m going back to occasional use of my typewriter, to avoid distraction when I write. What do you do about this problem?
Which interview situation sounds most like yours?
Some predicaments, in list format
“Eland Books HQ”
Inside a small publisher's office. Artist In Residence report
On listening to something dry - but gripping
I'm trying to make sense of what makes interviews work, even when they shouldn't
Kenneth Harris: No tape recording, no written notes
Harris did some impressive interviews for The Observer. How did he remember it all?
Studs Terkel: “You can learn anything from anyone at any time“
… So said the great Chicagoan radio host, who continued to interview the famous and the uncelebrated into his 90s.
"Journalists are not your friends"
...said one journalist, to another, who was being interviewed at the time
Who wants to write like a journalist?
And what kind of journalist?
Secrets of a Newsletter Publisher
Clickbait headline? I think it’s deserved
Documentary film. Partly made by people traffickers
Beyond Utopia reminds us that there's always something else going on - something someone doesn't want us to know about
What Does A Raw Interview Sound Like?
My friend Rob let me share it with you
How To Shape A Writing Project As You Go Along
An exercise I use when mentoring first-time authors
"The Prison Chaplain"
Finding a story in body language
RIP Camila
Writing About Her Changed My Whole Outlook
Introducing... Interview Club
Experimental, interactive session on Zoom.
Torn Posters As A Specimen Of Journalism
Seemed quite poignant to me.
On Making A Testimonial For A Friend
And what else I said (exclusive to Substack).
“Sort Of Artist In Residence”
Inside a small but mighty publisher
Making An Apology, 15 Years Late
What I said to the man I had written about
Hear Their Cry: Woman Life Freedom!
Family Photos, Poetry and Illustration as a specimen of journalism
How I Wrote A Feature Article In 20 Mins From Scratch
Not hyping AI, but not underplaying it either
"Local news, Spy Tech, and Footballers' Wives"
An Angst-ridden Episode, Concluding With Mild Grief
RIP Jonathan Raban
He wrote for love and money - don’t we all?
Finding A Story In Pictures
How to notice the treasure in everyday photos?
Something About Me Had To Change
How I got started in journalism
Email Newsletters: Saying Goodbye To Mailchimp
It's not the same thing at all
Writing for... Who?
A Question From A Reader ”I often feel multiple readers while writing (and their imaginary criticisms or praise). How do you resolve the challenge of who you...
How many of these faces do you recognise?
Coming up: a livestream about The Penguin Book of Interviews
Coming soon: Think Like A Journalist
This is Think Like A Journalist, a newsletter about journalism - from the mainstream and the margins - and also containing journalism. It’s written by a...
The News in Pictures - and why one reader can sometimes be enough.
Hello. John-Paul Flintoff here. I hope you're well. The News, Tuesday to Friday Tuesday: meeting at Balmoral Thursday evening: Breaking news on the BBC...
Amazing What A Lectern Can Do - And Tulips
In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare gives Mark Anthony a speech that pretends to be one thing, but is almost exactly the opposite. And this week Boris Johnson used...
Alt Text Challenge | Series 2, Episode 3
Thank you for your creative responses to yesterday’s challenge. I hope you enjoyed it. Describing these pictures is hard! It would be so much easier to...
ATC Series 2, Episode 2
Several responses to yesterday’s challenge: thank you. I hope you found it stimulating. The winner: [ If the picture doesn't show in your email, click here....
"Lunchtime Shadows, London" | A Challenge For Writers
Received many kind words after my last email, thank you. Was a bit downcast, but all's well now. In fact, more than well: last night I was taken to a...
Bots for Boris
On discovering fake accounts
Getting To Know You...
Hi. I'm John-Paul
A Small Explosion, And An Attempt At Redemption
Been having a couple of bad days, thinking dark thoughts. One thing that troubles me is that I’ve not been doing what I planned to do, as evidenced in the...
::Everyday Writing:: Rhythm Of A Book
How to get the rhythm of a book right? The pace? The sense of progress? The sequence of colour, if it’s illustrated? The content, whether pictured or verbal?...
Show, Don't Tell | On Turning Journalism Into A Comic
In 2013, when the Guardian was still printed on the mid-sized Berliner format (smaller than broadsheet, but larger than tabloid), an illustrated story ran...
Adequate Projects, er, February news
Hello! I hope you’re well. Welcome to February’s (terribly late) newsletter from Adequate Projects. . I stumbled recently upon a website that instantly...
Independent Ukraine | Look How Far It Has Come
Dispatch From Kyiv At the Ukrainian equivalent of Oxford Circus, the last remaining Lenin – a tall statue in red marble – was playing to perfection the role...
Journalism As A Training For... What?
Earlier today I was reading a story by a British journalist – a woman, can’t recall her name – for a big American magazine, The Atlantic. Hi, John-Paul...
ADEQUATE Projects & Something More Than Adequate
Greetings. . This email is only for blessed patrons, aka premium newsletter subscribers and members of what is now called Adequate Projects (AP). . I just...
Actual handwritten letters by post
When did you last receive a letter that made you genuinely happy - in the post, I mean, a physical letter? Not hate mail (as I tend to think of it) from the...
SPECIAL PROJECTS Livestream
Greetings! I hope you're well. . This email is only for blessed patrons, aka premium newsletter subscribers and members of Special Projects (SP), which I've...