Screenwriter Cindy McCreery has written everything from action to children’s movies and everything in between. In the talk she gave to students at Moody College of Communication, she discussed how she gets in the zone to get even her most underdeveloped ideas on paper. To get at the magic of writing, McCreery says you have to give yourself time to get into your characters’ heads, and have fun with it!

The Texas A&M bonfire collapsed almost 19 years ago, at 2:24 a.m. on Nov. 18, 1999. That night, 12 students died and 27 were injured. Among those injured was John Comstock; he was the last person retrieved alive from the debris. In the Austin American Statesman profile “The Thirteenth Man,” written by Kevin Robbins for the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, Comstock recalls the events of the night that changed life. Listen to Robbins speak on his process of immersion reporting and writing from the eyes of a single subject.

In this episode of Conversations on the Craft, sports journalist Patrick Hruby explains the research process behind his 2015 Vice Sports Article, “How Football Pulled The Trigger: Zack Langston’s Family Reflects On His Tragically Short Life.”

Coming soon!