The Poynter Report Podcast A Conversation with America's Writing Coach
Jul 16, 2025
Roy Peter Clark, veteran writing teacher and author known as "America's Writing Coach," reflects on his journey from Chaucer scholar to newsroom mentor. He discusses his seven-step writing process, coaching reporters with encouragement, the power of a strong lead, the origins of Writing Tools, and building a legacy to sustain writing and editing craft.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
How An OpEd Launched His Writing Career
- Roy Peter Clark landed national attention when his op-ed Infectious Cronchitis about Southern accents ran in the New York Times and led to a Today Show invite.
- He wrote it as a young PhD teaching in the South, which jumpstarted his public-writing career.
Seven Step Writing Process
- Clark presents writing as a process with seven repeatable steps: idea, collect, focus, select, order, draft, revise.
- He traced this to composition teaching and Don Murray's coaching approach applied to journalists.
Build Writers By Asking About Process
- Do interview writers about their process before judging their work to discover strengths you can praise and develop.
- Clark bought reporters coffee, highlighted specific strong passages, and asked whether they saw themselves as fast or slow writers.
