How To Write Stories That People Actually Want to Read (ARCHIVE)

An introduction to interviewing, structuring and writing for impactful storytelling

Courtney Crowder is the Iowa Columnist and a senior writer at the Des Moines Register. She is the co-director and producer of “SHIFT: The RAGBRAI Documentary.” A two-time Livingston Award finalist and winner of numerous Iowa Newspaper Association Awards and Best of Gannett honors, Crowder tells human stories with an investigative eye and a narrative touch. As the COVID pandemic raged, Crowder led the Register’s efforts to document the names and stories of Iowans who died of COVID through the “Iowa Mourns” obituary project and penned a seven-part series, “Inside COVID’s Siege,” after spending weeks embedded in an ICU.  She co-founded the Des Moines Storytellers Project, a live storytelling event series, and co-launched the Register’s new Off Hours entertainment vertical. She believes in coaxing out the universal truth in people’s stories and knows that if you dig deep enough into anyone’s stories, you’ll find everyone’s story.