Member-only story
The Writing Tip that the Greatest Magazine Writer Used on Every Story.
It’s one you can implement right now.
Last Sunday, Sports Illustrated posted a profile about Gary Smith, the magazine’s greatest writer, now retired, who’s teaching mindfulness to elementary kids in South Carolina.
Now, for those who know me, you know I love Gary Smith. You know a rule of his on story selection and story structure guides every piece I do, and should guide every story you write, too. It’s that powerful.
(It’s the rule of the lifelong conflict and its daily manifestation, and if you want to know more about it, click here.)
So this profile of Smith seemed a little kismet-y as I read it last weekend. The best part is Smith keeps giving advice.
His years of reading, writing and exploring were in the service of a goal: “To learn how to play this game most wisely, with the least amount of suffering and the most amount of enjoyment.”
Perhaps my favorite anecdote comes when Smith explains how exactly he told such complex stories. And what I mean by that is, How did he report pieces with such nuance? And then how did he relay them with such depth?
For Smith it’s about judgment. He didn’t bring any into his pieces. He didn’t write anything in his notebook under the…
