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Is this wrong?

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Tweener, Apr 19, 2019.

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  1. Tweener

    Tweener Well-Known Member

    Do you ever have a hard time enjoying a story (which is generally pretty good) because, as a writer, you can’t help but see all the flaws in the writing/reporting?

    Every so often, I read something that everyone seems to jacked about yet I just can’t get there.

    The recent example is a piece I read on a major sports figure that was published by a large publication. It was a solid piece, but I was shocked at how many people seemed to love it. One guy I follow on Twitter actually wrote that it was one of the best features he’s ever read. I about spit out my Dr. Pepper.

    We all know writers are competitive, but am I being petty? Does this happen to anyone else?
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2019
    Tweener, Apr 19, 2019
    #1
  2. cjericho

    cjericho Well-Known Member

    Link to the story?
     
    cjericho, Apr 19, 2019
    #2
  3. Tweener

    Tweener Well-Known Member

    I’d rather not. More of a general question than about one story.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2019
    Tweener, Apr 19, 2019
    #3
  4. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    Well, I read a story my wife was writing.

    Started to critique it.

    One of the many factors that led to my divorce.
     
    Vombatus, Apr 19, 2019
    #4
    cyclingwriter2 likes this.
  5. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    I often can't get past editing errors. Which means I love a lot fewer stories nowadays.
     
    playthrough, Apr 19, 2019
    #5
    HanSenSE and Dog8Cats like this.
  6. TigerVols

    TigerVols Well-Known Member

    I totally ignored the OP once I saw the period in Dr Pepper.
     
    TigerVols, Apr 19, 2019
    #6
    expendable, Chef2, Huggy and 7 others like this.
  7. Dog8Cats

    Dog8Cats Well-Known Member

    Since I started to really concentrate on copy editing, it has become terribly difficult to disengage from the editing mode -- whatever I'm reading. This might sound petty, but in my mind, the overall quality of a piece of work has to take into account the conventions of the language and other editing-esque issues.
     
    Dog8Cats, Apr 19, 2019
    #7
  8. Monday Morning Sportswriter

    Monday Morning Sportswriter Well-Known Member

    What does it mean to jacket about a story?
     
    Monday Morning Sportswriter, Apr 19, 2019
    #8
    Tweener likes this.
  9. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    Sure. The points are valid.

    One person's thorough is another's navel-gazing. One person's eloquence is another's pretentiousness. One person's attempt at writing is another's bad attempt at forming a narrative.

    Time and place. Amount of space. Size of newshole. Writer. Story. Setting. Objective. News cycle. Bunches of variables.

    There are people who have won numerous awards who I wouldn't give two seconds for their next story. There are others who would never brag about or display their awards - or who have never won one because they're much more concerned about their next piece than the APSE or state award deadlines - who publish amazing work.
     
    Sam Mills 51, Apr 19, 2019
    #9
    Tweener likes this.
  10. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Michael Bamberger on golf.com wrote a listicle story in December of some "best things in golf" that caught his eye over the past week, and one item was slamming a small newspaper for butchering a photo caption from George H.W. Bush's funeral that had some household sports names -- with the subhead "Best reason to still have a copy desk." I went all crazy-reader and sent him a note pointing out that golf.com and SI have fallen considerably in terms of copy editing, so perhaps he should spare a fellow media outlet and especially one so much smaller than his. And I pointed out an editing mistake elsewhere in that same story. First time in years I had done something like that, but it really rubbed me the wrong way.
     
    playthrough, Apr 19, 2019
    #10
    Tweener likes this.
  11. JimmyHoward33

    JimmyHoward33 Well-Known Member

    Happens to me all the time. Its a combo of me being a bit of a critical eye and everyone on Twitter tending to go way over the top on praise with stuff thats just Ok
     
    JimmyHoward33, Apr 19, 2019
    #11
    Tweener likes this.
  12. CD Boogie

    CD Boogie Well-Known Member

    Boom!
     
    CD Boogie, Apr 22, 2019
    #12
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