Just before the pandemic hit in 2020, my publisher Little, Brown issued my book “Murder Your Darlings,” which happens to be a writing book about writing books.
I have access to about a thousand writing books. In both alphabetical and chronological order, they extend from the work of Aristotle to that of William Zinsser: from “The Poetics” to “On Writing Well.”
Most of my books reside near the library of The Poynter Institute, my professional home since 1979. In addition to books, my writing resources in St. Petersburg, Florida, include human beings. I have learned, for example, from Peter Meinke, now the poet laureate of this infuriating state.
I have learned from more great journalists than I can count. I have conducted soulful conversations with writers who have Pulitzer Prizes, or who were finalists in that prestigious competition.
The honor roll includes Gene Patterson, Tom French, Kelley Benham French, Ben Montgomery, Anne Hull, David Finkel, John Woodrow Cox, Diana Sugg — and Lane DeGregory.
Years ago, I pressed the mayor and city council to officially proclaim St. Pete a City of Writers. That declaration has proven true many times over. Spend some time at Tombolo Books and you will experience presentations from poets, novelists, essayists, memoirists, screenwriters, authors of children’s books and journalists. My professional goal is to learn something new about the writing craft every single day; I can’t think of a more fertile place to practice that aspiration than this sun-soaked peninsula sticking out into the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay.
That brings me to my friend Lane and her new writing book, “The Girl in the Window and Other True Tales.” A subtitle describes the work as “An Anthology with Tips for Finding, Reporting, and Writing Nonfiction Narratives.”
Over more than three decades, I have seen Lane work her magic on the pages of the St. Petersburg Times, now the Tampa Bay Times, a news organization, I can testify, known across the globe for its superior writing.
Lane stands out for her range, her storytelling skills, her command of the language, her empathy, and, most of all, her ability to see the world as a storehouse of story ideas. She can take a series of flags at a rodeo and turn it into a mystery story. She can spin a yarn after a child tosses a favorite stuffed toy out a car window. Those stories are full of light and whimsy. She can also tell the story of a poor little girl suffering the most paralyzing neglect imaginable — “The Girl in the Window” — for which she earned a Pulitzer Prize. (A digital version of her story has been seen by millions of viewers.)
Lane falls into a special class of writers: those who can write and teach. She was a favorite speaker at the National Writers Workshops, at Harvard’s Nieman Narrative Conference and at narrative conferences in Norway. She is devoted to honing her own craft, and she is an expert in sharing the elements of that craft with others, exemplified by the creation with her editor Maria Carrillo of a podcast called “WriteLane” devoted to good writing.
In my book “Murder Your Darlings,” I cull the best tips from writing books famous and obscure. Not one of these writing books is exactly like Lane’s, and I am hoping to one day include her in a new edition.
Writing books tend to fall into certain subcategories.
There are books that offer writing-specific writing strategies, such as “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White.
There are books that describe the productive habits of a certain writer, such as “On Writing” by Stephen King.
Some reveal the method and process of a particular writer, such as “The Art and Craft of Feature Writing” by William Blundell.
I own books that anthologize and organize works of nonfiction as examples of best practices, such as “The Art of Fact,” edited by Kevin Kerrane and Ben Yagoda.
I have written a book, “The Art of X-Ray Reading,” that takes famous texts and reverse-engineers them to reveal how they were created.
And there are books that offer creative manifestos on the mission and purpose of the writer, such as “The New Journalism” by Tom Wolfe.
But I know of no writing book that accomplishes all of these — until now.
You can get a broad view of Lane’s range and versatility by taking in this list of 24 chapter titles, most of which describe the exemplified strategy:
- Talk to Strangers
- Get a Life
- Explore Rituals
- Wonder, Who Would Ever?
- Establish Intimacy
- Don’t Judge
- CAST Around
- Unravel the Mystery
- Carve Out the Elephant
- Explore News Briefs
- Ignore Important People
- Find a Guide
- Listen to the Quiet
- Wait for It
- Go Back
- Find the Helpers
- Make a Difference
- Inhabit Their Heads
- Braid Narratives
- Follow the Story
- Find the Bruise on the Apple
- Use Their Voices
- Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
- Get Personal
It’s easy enough to see in this list a curriculum for studying the craft, whether it be in a classroom or a newsroom.
Something else to think about: Journalism is undergoing an existential crisis with many political efforts to decertify it, along with financial struggles draining it of its resources. In the work of Lane DeGregory we see, not an enemy of the people, but a friend — a champion, someone who understands the deep and sacred power of storytelling for the public good.
