How bad is this Boston Globe lede?

Unusually, I'm going to let this thread continue. At least for a while. I'm also going to moderate it very closely.

I think the nature of criticism is a worthwhile subject.

But I'm also going to remind everyone that since we've moved this thread to the Workshop, our house rules of exquisite decorum and jolly politesse now apply.

Play on.

 

I disagree. This isn't random shitting at all.....someone posted an actual story--without the byline--and made specific (and valid) criticisms.

I don't like to see the 'guy's a scumbag jerk, steals stories, no one likes him' posts, but this seemed fair game.

 

99.9 percent of the time, I agree with that.

But if you have something truly special, that rule can go out the window.

"When Roger Federer walked to his chair 17 games into his U.S. Open semifinal against Andy Roddick, he was thinking only about saving face. Winning? That was out of the question."

"Trailing 0-6, 0-6, 0-5 and looking as bad as he has made many of his opponents look for much of his storied career, Federer could only hope to stave off the inevitable as long as he could."

"Two hours later, it was Roddick trying to stave off elimination, and the American could not do it as Federer put the finishing touches on the greatest comeback in tennis history."

"Federer's 0-6, 0-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 victory . . . "

The 0-6, 0-6, 0-5 is so unique, to replace it with "down two sets and one game from elimination" or something like that would be criminal.

 

BTE makes a wonderful craft point:

Once you've mastered the rules - and I do mean mastered - you can, and sometimes must, break them in service of writing a singular piece on a great story.

 

The better way to talk about this lede would have been a thread titled, 'gamers without score in the lede' or something similar. The thread, combined with the references to the specific reporter made it pretty damn easy to figure out who he was talking about.

 

But how do you really know when you've mastered the rules ... or when the story merits breaking them to write that singular piece?

I've seen some great writers who have enough self-doubt that they'd be too afraid to try such a turn of phrase when it's warranted. Or, by contrast, writers who don't have enough skill to pull it off who try and fail miserably.

As a great writer Double Down once referenced said, I'm always 10 years away from the writer I want to be. I'll feel that way 10 years from now.

BTE's example is one of the rare exceptions I could see making to the "never post a score before the final score" rule. But if I have a green writer covering the story, they'd probably better not mess with it.

 

There's a short answer to what you ask f_t, and a long one. Here's the short one:

Mastering the rules means a great deal more than simply understanding them and applying them.

Mastering the rules means knowing not only that they constrain you - but knowing precisely why and how they constrain you.

Only then should you start looking for ways to break them. And only in certain very specific circumstances.

Young writers, inexperienced writers, break them for effect - mostly without ever having understood them.

 

abe -

Had this originally been posted in the Workshop, I'd have insisted on exactly that. As an import, I'm going to let it stand. It gives us a chance - if we choose it - to talk about how we talk about each other in here.

But your suggestion is very much in the spirit of this place, so thanks.

 

Simon, unlike you, I've posted my work on the Writer's Workshop. In fact, I was the first to do so. You've shown little proof you're even in this business.

Think of that the next time you bring up someone else's insecurity.

 

Isn't "Reunited" a Peaches and Herb song? I know, it's still weird to quote Peaches and Herb, but ...

 

I apologize for the bad form. But it was bad form.

I left the byline off because I wasn't trying to call out the writer. I'm sure he's a very good writer and reporter. It's not about him.

I was just wondering, again, why that paper encourages that kind of lede. I've seen it so many times, and I'm always baffled by them. I like feature ledes on a gamer if they come off well, but I don't like the ones that distract so much before they get into the gamer.

Sorry if I pushed it too rough. But the discussion is always interesting.

 

A couple of times I've seen threads such as these, the originator usually doesn't intend malice toward the writer. However, they say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. The road to DTGDTN probably has a few well-intended threads as speed bumps.