tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post7190026549212050524..comments2024-03-29T06:29:02.182-04:00Comments on You Don't Say: When do you stop?John McIntyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03559687583130468871noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-47026708677845913642010-04-21T17:35:27.048-04:002010-04-21T17:35:27.048-04:00When I was writing more regularly, I had been pron...When I was writing more regularly, I had been prone to the meandering, intricate introduction. I was fortunate to come under the guidance of an experienced reporter who taught me to slice through the unnecessary parts and get to the point. At the same time, I learned that the meandering often helped me get to my own starting place for the piece, so I learned to use it to my advantage, but not inflict it on anybody else. <br /><br />During a brief period as a writer of remarks for others to make at honorary dinners, I learned the first step to take after completing my first draft was to cut out all my favorite turns of phrase. I enjoyed making them, and I soon learned that the speaker would merely stumble over them or get confused. Cutting them out helped me get to the essence of what the speaker should say, giving him a structure on which to hang his own flowery rhetoric.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-62982929524263834272010-04-21T13:37:24.403-04:002010-04-21T13:37:24.403-04:00I balk at polemical axe-grinding. One of the reaso...I balk at polemical axe-grinding. One of the reasons I decided to leave academia was that I became disgusted with so many young professors--regardless of the purported discipline, be it history or literature or religion--wrapping up each discourse with a pitch for Marxism.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-68558881811127188542010-04-21T13:23:30.329-04:002010-04-21T13:23:30.329-04:00I suppose another interest-killer is the formulaic...I suppose another interest-killer is the formulaic article, whose outline (and probable ending) you can detect within the first two sentences. More in features than in news, as I think about it.<br /><br />John, I wonder whether it would fit within the parameters of your observations to (at some point) address the opposite of this -- the article about a topic that sounds like it would be a snoozer but becomes unexpectedly fascinating. I'm thinking here of things like David Owen's articles in "The Atlantic" on concrete (zzzzz) or sheetrock (zzzzzz), Michael Lewis on finance or sports, and such. Just a thot.mikehttp://www.mikepope.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-7579348557825079022010-04-21T12:09:53.123-04:002010-04-21T12:09:53.123-04:00Love your advice, sir. I am especially guilty of &...Love your advice, sir. I am especially guilty of "throat-clearing," I believe, because I try too hard to be clever at the start of a blog post, thinking that cleverness will rope in the reader. <br /><br />Thanks for opening my eyes!Steve Hallhttp://kestrelsaerie.usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-50935005640118417552010-04-21T10:54:24.679-04:002010-04-21T10:54:24.679-04:00Preach it,John!
I'm one of those retired (and...Preach it,John!<br /><br />I'm one of those retired (and retreaded) English teachers and read websites (thanks, AP), newspapers and magazines with red pen in hand.<br /><br />This morning I ran across this in an AP article and had trouble taking the writer seriously after that. BTW...Where was the proofreader, drinking tea and eating toast?<br /><br />Texas billionaire Ross Perot said Tuesday that the national tea party movement seems to be doing well but that time will tell how it will effect the country, government and November elections.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11537256399190903813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-53639031487913581352010-04-21T10:41:40.824-04:002010-04-21T10:41:40.824-04:00Thank you. I see myself in some of these comments...Thank you. I see myself in some of these comments, and need to absorb them into my thinking about writing.Jed Waverlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04247031220475748127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-18383281286653034582010-04-21T10:16:10.927-04:002010-04-21T10:16:10.927-04:00When I regularly read newspapers I frequently foun...When I regularly read newspapers I frequently found errors of fact in articles on subjects about which I was informed. I didn't just stop reading those articles, I stopped reading those newspapers.typingtalkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09572305719782041883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-54728148006312993762010-04-21T09:52:00.559-04:002010-04-21T09:52:00.559-04:00May I also briefly point out that one of our "...May I also briefly point out that one of our "favourite" newsroom characters - the narrative writer who loves him/herself so very much - can ruin a good story with overembellishment. If it's a cops brief, we don't need to know what the fall air smelled like the day of the fender bender, thanks. I think most readers roll their eyes at this kind of treatment and move on.<br /><br />Convincing the writer of that, however, is another thing entirely.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02655729639850048579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-32766204840959260282010-04-21T08:43:29.195-04:002010-04-21T08:43:29.195-04:00There is also the dull treatment. You can have a g...There is also the dull treatment. You can have a good story, well thought-out structure, flowing language, good fact checking and it still ends up flat. Uninspiring. Dull. <br /><br />It's the same as with a novel that you realize <i>should</i> be good - all the elements of goodness are there - but for some reason the author just fails to grip you. In the same way, an otherwise good journalist writing what should be a good piece just doesn't hit that elusive target where the facts and the language meld and create something we enjoy and want to finish reading. It's called a "story" for a reason.Jan Morenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06834641501438709866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-26512696807310531262010-04-21T08:33:18.942-04:002010-04-21T08:33:18.942-04:00John, I have trouble getting some students to unde...John, I have trouble getting some students to understand these fundamentals. Thanks.Christopher Harperhttp://www.philadelphianeighborhoods.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-64839595102674752522010-04-21T08:08:45.898-04:002010-04-21T08:08:45.898-04:00Re errors: Indeed!Re errors: Indeed!MichiganCityDDSnoreply@blogger.com