your best advice for writers
Dave Dravecky warms up in front of a small section of the media scrum canada goose outlet on Aug. 10, 1989. Your blogger was high above the right field bleachers, background. Have you had an moment?
I kick it off with an moment of canada goose outlet authentic my own. At the end of Joe Posnanski advice about staying humble, I promised to tell a story that I been reminded of by the advice Joe canada goose vest outlet editor had given him: you find yourself in a large group of reporters, you’re probably in the wrong place. Here it is.
In 1989, San Francisco Giants left hander Dave Dravecky made a dramatic comeback from cancer and arm surgery. He had a significant chunk of muscle removed from his pitching arm and wasn expected to pitch again, but he returned for a game at Candlestick Park on Aug. 10, 1989, almost 15 months after his last appearance.
I was working on an unrelated story for the Oakland A magazine, so when batting practice ended, my job for the day, interviewing players and coaches about the subject of canada goose outlet toronto location my article, was done. I could enjoy a day at the yard.
buy canada goose jacket cheap I decided to kill time before the first pitch with a walk around the big, circular stadium, a lap along the walkway at the front of the upper deck. As I strolled canada goose outlet store toronto in the www.elcortezlv.com outfield sections, Dravecky made his way to the bullpen down the first base line, trailed by a massive pack of photographers and reporters, a scrum fit for a president or a pop star. buy canada goose jacket cheap
canada goose clearance sale As Dravecky began his warmups, the media members, maybe 100 strong, arrayed themselves in a huge crescent canada goose kensington parka uk starting behind the catcher and curling all the way past Dravecky and the mound. Dozens of photographers snapped away, at points four or five deep, all getting the exact same picture! canada goose clearance sale
canada goose coats Each photographer shot was a degree or two different from the shot of the person over, but they were all pretty much the same: Dave Dravecky warming up in the bullpen, looking pretty much like every other pitcher who ever warmed up in a bullpen. canada goose coats
canada goose uk shop I was a few hundred feet above all this wishing I had a camera, because I was looking at a great shot. canada goose uk shop
canadian goose jacket That massive crowd of photographers jostling for a shot of Dravecky warming up told the story: This was no ordinary start, no ordinary game. It was a remarkable day, a remarkable story, and that picture, had I been able to take it, would have captured a huge part of it. canadian goose jacket
That was an aha moment for me. I was just starting out, and that day taught me, as Joe Posnanski editor taught him, to stay out of crowds of reporters. Get yourself out of that pack to get a better perspective and most likely a much better story.
uk canada goose It works figuratively just as well as literally. If you part of a consensus, does the world really need to hear your voice? Look for a way to step out of the crowd. uk canada goose
Proofread, proofread and proofread. Don expect editors to do all the dirty work for you. You gain a canada goose outlet ottawa lot of readers if you write about a hot topic or a unique/clever angle, but you won keep readers if they see obvious spelling and grammar errors. It can be a visual turn off for many.
Make sure you do your research. History, stats, whatever it may be. It shows when you put time and effort into your articles.
Canada Goose Outlet Also, don get discouraged if you get assigned a topic you not knowledgeable in. Research will usually get you up to enough speed to be able to write the article. Canada Goose Outlet
Furthermore, treat all the people that comment on your article with respect. Even those that badmouth what you wrote. You can make everyone happy. Replying with the same harshness as them shows canada goose outlet germany a lack of maturity.
cheap Canada Goose In my short time writing for b/r, and in my lengthy experience reading articles posted on b/r, the most useful thing I have learned through reading others articles, and in writing my own is to put your biases aside. canada goose outlet nyc If you a Red Sox fan and you writing on a topic that contrasts them with the Yankees, it bodes well for you to be able to discuss both the flaws and successes of both teams. This is similar to what I been taught all my life about general conversation: Be able to identify with your own areas to improve, as well as where you think you excel. It gives you credibility, respect, and a sense of maturity that is necessary for sports writing. cheap Canada Goose
I by no means an expert, but this is something that I am attracted to in acquaintances, and in the articles I read.
Be able to admit to mistakes, if you make them.
And that doesn mean that anytime someone says you wrong you should say sorry, I suck. More along the lines, that if you say something about a team, and the TEAM proves you wrong in the next few games, you should certainly acknowledge it in the comments to that article, or another article. Rather than try making facts fit his theory.
Write about things that matter to you if you aren passionate about the subject that you writing about, it will be evident in the finished product.
Know your audience. Before you start working on a piece, take a moment to figure out who be reading your piece and what type of reaction you hope to invoke by the time they finish reading your story.
canada goose factory sale Sometimes, less is more. If a story can be told effectively in 500 words, then don waste your time and energy writing any more than that. canada goose factory sale
Most importantly, remember that anything that you write has your name on it. Take the time to edit and proofread your work, or have someone you trust do so. Just as with any walk of life, no one wants to see their name associated with sub standard work.
Continuing with what Roy said,
Write about things you know: it important to be informed and to know as much as possible about a subject, but it always better if you already know about it and don need to do huge amounts of research.
READ. Read a lot: It doesn even have to be sports related, comic books, novels, newspapers, etc. everybody writes a different way and you might find a style, phrases or words you never read or heard before. This could help to find your own style, improve vocabulary and gives a greater choice of canada goose uk words.