game story protocol

But of course!

 

I gave a little talk to a high school English class once, and the teacher started giving me the gears about my use of "And" and "But" to start sentences. I cut her throat with a protractor.

 

I agree. It's a good rule for high schools and college freshmen to avoid choppy, run-on sentences, but it's been broken for centuries by countless writers, including myself.

 

Jonesy, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. You should find yourself a safehouse or a relative close by. Lay low for a while, because you're probably wanted for murder.

 

I applaud your weapon choice. Much cleaner and more effective than beating her with a dictionary or smashing the overhead projector over her head.

 

You know how some writers always use a kicker that ties back to their lead? I hate that. It almost always gives me douche chills.

 

what's to hate? it brings the story full circle - the kicker should tie up everything.

 

Agree with henry...there's nothing wrong with tying a story together, so long as it's not a complete stretch.

 

Oh, henry.

If you're using your last graph to bring the story full circle ... please, stop it. It's one of the most cliched story "tricks" in history.

The last graph of a news story is not there to write "THE END," just like it's not, as some writers believe, supposed to be a weak, optional graph that can be cut easily for space considerations.

 

so what should the last graf be used for?

A good story will work in just about any way. I'm sure there are lots of good rules-of-thumb as well as hard-and-fast rules to follow but, for the most part, the people who believe some things should "never" be used aren't very imaginative types.

The newspaper business isn't a very complicated business. Just tell the story in an entertaining, concise and informative way. If you fuck up or something doesn't work the way you hoped it would, try it again tomorrow. Of the several industries in which I've worked, it's by far the most forgiving and forgetting.

 

So if the score is supposed to be the first number, does that make you a hack if you write something like "LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 178 yards and a touchdown to lead San Diego to a 24-21 win over Buffalo on Sunday"?