Writing Style

Chad, no offense, but that's about the worst, most cynical advice I can imagine.

That sounds like inverted pyramid horseshit, lazy formula, template writing, all the stuff that's killing newspapers. Write well, yes, I agree with you there. And the top is important, sure.

But the ending is everything.

I mean, it's your leaving note. You want to go out with... Meh?

 

depends. you talking about a feature or a column? or are you talking about a 12- to 15-inch gamer or a small piece of sports news?

for the former, i agree, you could absolutely benefit (and often times need) a good kicker, quote or otherwise. you know, to resonate.

but if it's just a run-of-the-mill game report or even something like the women's volleyball coach getting a 2-year extension, it's not always worth it to stress about the last sentence — especially on deadline.

when you're only dealing with 12 inches or so and a time constraint, it's near impossible to be too 'crafty' at the end of the story, no matter how OCD you are. blow your creativity on the lede. that's what a majority of the people will see anyway.

ron burgundy: "it's science."

 

I couldn't disagree more. Writing a great ending, especially to a gamer, means nothing if the rest of the story sucks. If you don't write the first 12 inches well, no one will ever get to your awesome ending.

You need to leave a feature with something to tie the knot and a column needs a strong point at the end. But a gamer like this, you better write the lead better than the end, because the second you give them shit at the top and a great ending, they never make it to the end.

No one ever held readers attention with a great ending. It's your top that makes them keep going.

Meh.

 

I must be borrowing your style, because I oftentimes end a feature with a quote and a column with a blunt statement. Is this a case of great minds thinking alike?

 

Not sure where I was asking for a shit top, Chad. Yeah, if the first 500 words suck, nobody's going to care about the last 100. And yeah, it's more important for a feature or a column than a gamer.

But a gamer isn't just fill. No reason one can't be good top-to-bottom, too. And I'd argue gamers especially need to be, just to compete against all the other ways fans can get the nuts-and-bolts quicker than in your paper.

I mean, jeez, if you're going into it assuming that readers aren't going to finish your stories -- that sounds to me like a good way to make sure they aren't going to finish your stories.

 

You've pretty clearly never read me.

I don't particularly care how a story ends, because that's not what draws them in. If you cover a team like the Indians, you're writing so many gamers they do become filler to a point. No, they're not formulaic. But you're also not writing the Super Bowl five times a week.

Give them a reason to read you and they'll be there at the end. Worrying about the ending being crafty won't get them in the door.

Just write and have fun with it. There's a big difference between a midweek, midseason gamer and something people will read as more than a throw away.

 

I don't know about anyone else, but when I write, I aim for a solid story, from the beginning to the end. I don't want to slack off in any part of the story, no matter the style of the piece or the length. Why shouldn't a story be strong all the way through; shouldn't that be every writer's goal?

Otherwise, I really think you're robbing your readers of the full effect. Anyone could read the box score, but our aim is to bring them into our articles and send them off on a good note. All the while, keeping them entertained through the middle. At least that's my take. But, I'm only 24. What do I know?

 

I'm not sure what this means.

But it doesn't matter. We're not going to come to a consensus here. I think endings count as much as tops. You don't. Okay.

 

You know plenty, I'd say.

 

I too don't see why it's an either/or thing. You can write a kick ass ending, a superb top, and a bad-ass middle. It's like people who pose questions on SportsJournalists.com like, "Which is more important, writing or reporting?"

Both are important. A lot of people reading this thread might think, "Well, I write 10-inch prep stories and Chris Jones writes 2,500-word features, so his rule about endings doesn't really apply to what I do." I say that's silly. It absolutely applies to you. Reward readers for spending time with your words. Deadlines can make creativity tough, but the idea that endings are just filler is focus group-driven bullshit. Storytelling takes many different forms, but if you give someone no reason to read to the end, the next time, they'll have no reason to read to the middle. And so on. The most important part of a joke is the punch line. The more important part of a novel is the last page. Even if you don't do it for your readers, put some effort into the ending as an exercise for yourself as a writer.

Quotes, very often, are the lazy exit to a story, especially a feature. Personally, I've been trying real hard to come up with something better than a quote to end my stories lately. Doesn't always work, but I do feel like I'm thinking more like a storyteller as a result.

 

Writing Style - How Journalists Do It