Eleven Tips on the Art of Long-Form Journalism

1. Pick a scary theme: viruses, crackdowns, etc.
2. Explore the history of the topic
3. Create scenes that provide a dramatic arc
4. Tell the story through a single person’s eyes
5. Convert dry journal articles into first-person accounts by describing the authors’ back stories.
6. Conduct painstaking research. Provide end notes and references.
7. Be wary of inserting yourself into the narrative.
8. Develop a voice (e.g. “comedic investigative journalism”)
9. Use storytelling even if you are not creating narrative non-fiction
10. Start with a dramatic and inexplicable event. Then answer the “why” question.
11. Have a structure. (Find a good editor!) Step back from your material to determine the appropriate structure for your content.