Ben: “It’s like community prayer.”

Kelley Benham:
She waits here every day, across the street from the elementary school, in her barely blue ice cream truck with its peeling paint and rusting fender. The clown painted on the side is still trying to smile, but he’s almost worn away.
She burns incense from the health food store to hide the smell of [...]

Neil’s take:
You want people to be forgoing sleep to reach the end of your story, to see how the mystery is solved, learn how things turned out, discover the answer to the big question. A great ending has a great payoff embedded in it — even if it’s presented subtly. Go back to the question [...]

Ben’s talk was called narrative on deadline but really it was just about a few ways to report to give yourself a shot to write stories that aren’t boring.
Some of the tips:
Get inside. Go inside the person’s house. Go inside the person’s bathroom. What’s on their walls? Make the walls talk. Details. Get the brand [...]

Anne Hull:
The songs today are about Glocks and bitches, but Felicia clings to Patti LaBelle. Her eyelashes curl like a fawn’s. She has milk-chocolate skin as smooth as blown glass. A cubic zirconium glints from her left earlobe. Felicia can strut with the best of them, talking about what girl she “souped” or “smashed,” Timbs [...]

Tom Lake:
See the green Corvette blazing east toward the dawn, miles beneath the moon, seconds beyond the law.
Pasco County, nine winters back. A pursuit call crackles into Sgt. Gary Albin’s cruiser. Albin summons the cavalry and drives north to intercept.
Sparks fly as the Corvette blows a tire at nearly 120 mph. The driver veers off [...]

A story of his that Ben mentioned a moment ago:
The sky was dark, and the dog was barking. Ronnie Staggs, wild eyes, nine fingers and recently baptized, said he heard something. He grabbed a shovel and walked into the night.
His wife barely noticed.
When the sun came up and the horses started to stir, Brenda saw [...]