I had a curious conversation with one of my favourite authors last month, a privilege and a joy. It was a conversation about work and creativity, and he pointed me to Chip Scanlan as an important influence on his writing.

Scalan’s 33 Ways Not To Screw Up Your Journalism is free for the Kindle (Canada | USA) today, a promotional effort that, witness this blog post, is working.

From the introduction:

Journalism uniquely has the power to hold up a mirror and show us all who we really are, regardless of ideology, identity or place.

It is a discipline that, at its best, breaks through walls of deceit to shine a light on solutions to our world’s most complicated problems. Using timeless storytelling techniques, journalists illuminate the human condition.

Anne Janzer says in her book “Writing to Be Understood, “We need people who communicate across chasms in beliefs and understanding, healing the divisiveness that characterizes current public debate.” That’s the job of the journalist.