Sometimes you read a journalist's account of a place, person or situation that draws you in so deep you forget you're reading "news." They're more than just stories: The real-life scenes immerse you in a way that not only sticks, sometimes forever, but gives you meaning. To your humble editor, the absolute lion of this kind of journalism -- literary journalism -- was a legendary Polish reporter named Ryszard Kapuscinski, who sadly passed away last month. He was a hero, too, to a Canadian journalist named Deborah Campbell. Besides writing about the Middle East, Cuba and Russia and other places for leading publications, Deborah teaches literary journalism at the University of British Columbia. We had a fascinating conversation with her about this genre:

Want to shape up your storytelling and pump up your prose? Whether you're a screenwriter, copywriter or, umm, a writer-writer, these online courses can help you master the craft:

BBC Get Writing

Coffeehouse for Writers

U of Calgary's Grammar courses

Writer's Boot Camp

Writer-on-line

Last month we kicked off our blog recommendations for the New Year with a list of sites to help you write stronger. Just in case your resolve is wavering, here are more great websites to help you put pen to paper (or is it keyboard to screen?):

Writing, Clear and Simple

Grammar Girl's Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Business Writing

e-write

One of my readers sent me a thought-provoking email asking "why do good writers (occasionally) produce bad copy?" I thought about it for a while and here are a few suggestions.

The Visual Thesaurus is very excited to support WNYC New York Public Radio's The Leonard Lopate Show, part of our commitment to sponsor public radio across the country. For those of you outside of Gotham, Leonard Lopate is a radio legend, a masterful interviewer who holds captivating on-air conversations with eclectic guests -- actors, writers, artists, sports heroes, chefs, even ex-presidents. We thought it would be fascinating to turn the tables on Leonard: Interview him about the art of interviewing. Here's our conversation:

Early in my marketing communications (marcom) career, my supervisor gave me a pretty typical writing assignment. "This datasheet needs to be written pronto. Here's some information -- it should give you everything you need." I looked over the material and thought, "How am I supposed to write a datasheet using this? I don't even know what this product is!" Being new at the job, I didn't want to appear "dumb" by asking too many questions.