by Ian Aldrich | Sep 10, 2019
Many years ago, a longtime magazine editor gave me some advice that proved to be unquestionably valuable. “A place is not an idea, he told me, but a place can serve up multiple ideas.” It’s helped me improve as a writer (more focus equals a better... by Ian Aldrich | Aug 9, 2019
Recently I spent a long weekend in Madison, Connecticut, a shoreline town that I’m profiling for an upcoming issue of my publication, Yankee Magazine. In the old days of gathering notes for a story, I would have had my trusted notebook, some good pens, and maybe a... by Ian Aldrich | Jul 31, 2019
Maybe this sounds familiar. You’ve just returned from an awesome trip, you’ve taken great notes, you’re all set to write and then…nothing. You stare and stare and stare at the computer screen, waiting for those magnificent words to just start flowing, but something... by Ian Aldrich | Jun 18, 2019
As an editor, one thing I try to hammer home with new writers is that a story can take many different formats. There’s no one-size-fits-all, and that can be freeing. Just thinking of how to present a story differently can turn a marginal idea into a great one. The... by Ian Aldrich | Feb 1, 2019
Not that long ago, my editor assigned me a travel story on Middlebury, Vermont—an upscale, outdoorsy community in the central part of the state that in recent years has quietly become a foodie’s destination. However, just as I began my research, I met with a...