What Makes This Piece Good, Vol. 4: Selena Roberts' gamer on Knicks/Heat

I think you are looking at these questions from the wrong perspective. (Or wrong perspective to get where I am coming from with my questions).

I ask the questions from the standpoint of an editor, who instead of demanding copy 10 minutes after the final whistle, can wait for 25 minutes after the final whistle for a better gamer.

Now, is that internet death to wait those 15 minutes? Maybe? I don't know.

But writing a gamer in 1999 is a lot different than writing one in 2014. That's a given. I'm not slighting her at all, just posing questions aimed more at the people getting the the story than the one writing the story.

 

That's quite an indictment of a great piece of writing.

 

That absolutely did not happen. The work is Selena's.

 

Thanks for that answer, Jim.

And jr, deal with and learn to read through sarcasm.

 

Sorry, Xan. Totally escaped me there.

 

Getting to it late, but some things I like:
* It takes one sentence to set the stage. 'Zo calling out "One stop."
* Even in that one sentence there's great detail. It's not just that Zo's calling out. It's his baritone voice. We learn that the arena's so loud it's vibrating. It makes it easier to imagine yourself there.
* Since we're doing this for young writers, it's worth noting that she had to make a decision there. What details to use. What to leave out. She could have gone in to more detail. She could have described how the muscles in his neck strained as he called out. That he pounded the floor or stood with his hands on his thighs. That his eyes had some intensity in them. But that would have delayed the action. There was enough to set the stage - to paint the picture - but not to over-paint it. If you're like me, you'll find yourself misjuding where that line is and providing needless detail. So take note of it done well.
* People have talked about the candy cane line, but i really like what comes right after it - the shaft of light.
*The whole beginning of the story is just really well paced.
* DD talked about a good gamer explaining what it means. This piece obviously has it in spades. It gives you what it means for the playoffs, the next round, certain individuals, and the future of the franchise. Now, you have to know your beat well to be able to talk meaningfully about those things - and for it not to sound like #Hottakes.
* I find the ordering of the quotes interesting. The first Knicks voice you hear is Van Gundy's. It easily could have been Houston (Houston's first quote is a great one). Why do you think she chose that ordering? Did the line about Van Gundy's job in graph 2 necessitate that that quote was the first one we got? Or could it have worked better another way?
* Transitioning from one part of the game to another is key for a smooth gamer. It's worth looking at how she handles that here.

There's probably more worth talking about. But those are all the thoughts I have the stamina for right now.

 

I think this one is touchier given Roberts' recent history.
She has what psychologists call a "difficult reputation."
I won't elaborate.

 

No one is denying that a tight deadline adds pressure.

What I would hate to see is for people to not be able to appreciate, and possibly learn from, these pieces, because they're focused on how much time Salena Roberts had to file, how much access Sally Jenkins had, or how accommodating an editor Mike Bianchi had.

And to shottie's "point" that you'd have to have "done it" to "appreciate it", I think that's absurd. Some of you believe the sportswriting experience is so singular, that no one else can relate to it.

Do you have to have sunk a Master's winning put to appreciate the pressure that goes into making it? In fact, don't sportswriters attempt to convey that pressure/experience to readers, thought they haven't experienced it themselves?

I may not know how it feels to line up, and either make or miss such a putt, but I believe I can appreciate the pressure.

 

Fair point.

 

If she had more than two hours that's great. Five hours is awesome. But it really doesn't change the fact that this is a deadline gamer.
This is great writing. And its NOT Jenkins legendary SI "gamer" filed a week later.

Anyone who has ever written on a daily deadline gets this.

 

I hate the "even though I've never done it before, I understand it just as much as everyone else" narrative.

I can't skate, but I have pitched a complete game before. Of course i understand baseball better. To argue that I understand hockey just as well makes no sense at all.

You know what you do. If you cover golf or are doing a feature about golf and have never swung a club, go out and swing a club. I'm not talking same level, but at least knowing the felling of trying to catch up to a fastball or knowing the other guy is faster and stronger than you on a football field or understanding how to give just enough space when covering a man so he does not drive by you but cannot comfortably shoot does make you more informed about your subject.

 

The question had to do with understanding pressure. Do you have to have written on deadline to understand that there's additional pressure involved.

Don't nearly all jobs have periods where there's additional pressure, and or deadlines? An accountant at tax time, for example? A lawyer at trial?

There are countless examples, right? So can't we all relate to some degree?