Pete Croatto

Also, 6/21 from the 3-point line!

Yes, let's celebrate Kobe Bryant by showing restraint. Here's the stat line from his final game in 2016.

See, you get it.

Kobe, who in his last game, put up a gazillion shots to get to 60 points.

Also, that's not the record, but that's a story for another day!

Bam really should have known that records are meant to be honored and stopped at 81.

Your semi-regular reminder that writing is the passion. If you get tired of covering a topic, switch to another. You're not assigned these things at birth, you know.

I left because a.) I didn't care about getting better; b.) I have a family and I couldn't justify working for $2.35/hr; and c.) My heart wasn't in it anymore. The passion was gone.

It’s free and I’ll write whatever you want. All I need is an address.

Michele, who’s the best, is getting a signed bookplate. If you buy the book and want one, just holler!

Thank you, Michele! Hope you dig it.

just started to read this @petecroatto.bsky.social book (in addition to reading the book about the cars, and rereading the stand). of interest to many of you

New writers the only advice I can offer is, write with joy. Always.

You were great in BEETLEJUICE. (Seriously, you look like a different person here.)

Here's my idea about writing:

If you hate to write, don't write.

And here's my idea about reading:

If you can't read, STFU about writing.

In the Fire

And, in case, you're wondering, I've tried all of these. I'm very proud that I worked the lede from this Angell gem into an advertorial about a Bucks County dentist. www.newyorker.com/magazine/198...

Even with stuff that's not terribly exciting, insert some joy when you can. Throw in a reference to a Jim Jarmusch film; mimic a lede you saw in a Roger Angell story; try writing a story with no quotes. Readers will appreciate it.

Two Gifts, One Life of Service Veteran and OU alumna Lindsay Gutierrez is one of fewer than 300 living U.S. dual organ donors.

For SOONER MAGAZINE, I profiled Lindsay Gutierrez, who found her path in life in a most remarkable way. soonermag.oufoundation.org/stories/two-...

There it is. This job can be thankless; make it fun.

One for you, one for them. That has served me well.

The most I made on a movie review during my professional days, roughly 2000 to 2020: $200 at the old Deadspin. I wrote for free too many times.

I recently wrote glorified film synopses for a non-profit, which paid $1/word. I'm pretty sure I dreamed that gig.

Nobody watches 200 movies a year—usually for terrible pay plus no health benefits; and then spends countless hours behind a keyboard—because of hate.

Thanks, Michele!

Raffi wrote a song about Travis Kelce’s penis?

Master Class: The Art of Interviewing: How To Get People To Tell You Their Stories (And Their Secrets) — The Shipman Agency 2 Sessions: Sundays, March 15 + 22 12:00-2:00pm ET Tricia Romano An interview isn’t just a series of questions, it’s a conversation—a dance between the interviewer and the subject. Take it from Tricia Romano, the author of The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper that Changed American Culture (Public Affairs, 2024), which Dwight Garner, writing for the New York Times Book Review, called “A well-made disco ball of a book.” As someone who has interviewed thousands of people—included more than 200 subjects for a recent oral history— each interview was incredibly different. Some of my interviews have been short and sweet—packed with information but very quick and to the point. Others have been long and meandering, fun during the moment, but in the end, did not yield much useful information.  You will find that every interview is like a fingerprint—completely unique. Some subjects are open books and love to talk. Other interviewees are like talking to a wall. Your job is to get the information you need for your profile, book, or Q&A from them as painlessly as possible. We’ll talk about what makes Taffy Brodesser-Akner such an amazing profiler. We’ll analyze some of the techniques that  print journalists like Susan Orlean, Danyel Smith, and Wesley Lowery use for their interviews and how NY Times journalist Wesley Morris handles his questions. We will discuss what made Joan Didion such a compelling interviewer. In addition to examples from some of the aforementioned writers, we’ll look at some of my own interviews from The Freaks Came Out To Write and Q&A’s I conducted and talk about what worked and what I wish I would have done differently. We’ll also try a few in-class live attempts at interviews to demonstrate how to navigate conversations. We’ll analyze some of the different approaches for interviewing subjects as well as talk about the techniques, such as: * How do you prepare for an interview? * How do “friendly” interviews for profiles differ from those that are antagonistic?  * How do you broach difficult subject matter with your interviewees?  * How do you handle interviewees who possess strong media training? How do you get them to actually answer your question? And what do you do when they won’t? * How do you use an interview to draw out “color” for your story or book—details about an environment, events in the past, or details about another person? To apply for a scholarship, please fill out this form by Friday, March 6.

My interviewing masterclass is THIS Sunday. After 200+ interviews for The Freaks Came Out To Write, I have things to say about getting people to open up. Two sessions, March 15 + 22, hosted by @theshipmanagencyinc.

Ephron and Reiner knew.

“I know! I know! You’re right!”

Cinematic sweatpants.

"I'm sorry to say this but you're either too stupid to work here or you were in on it"

Let me take a moment from promoting myself to promote my amazing wife, Laura Amoriello, who was profiled in the most recent issue of The Penn Stater.

I truly believe she's doing work that matters with musicians looking to find their groove. Please spread the word.