Looking for serious column advice

[StraightEdge]

I am being forced into writing a column. Yep. I know many in this profession live to get a shot at writing columns, but I really don't.

I don't like sports columns. I don't like sports columnists. I don't like reading stuff with a lot of sentences that start with "I."

StraightEdge is a straight news guy with a news background who's recently come over to sports. (Always wanted to try it before I get out.) I've never written any type of column before.

So, what the hell am I supposed to do? Is it just picking a topic and writing an opinion? If so, I'm in trouble. I don't really have an opinion about the things I cover. I just do the job. How is a column that's not an opinion piece different from a feature?

 

[Ace]

Yeah, you gotta have an opinion. If you don't have one, fake it.

You may just get hugely successful.

 

[Moderator1]

Nowhere does it say you have to use "I" to write a column.
Someone just pull you out of their ass to do this? I doubt it. There's a reason you were selected. My guess is you are opinionated.
Put it into words.

 

[forever_town]

Everyone has an opinion. Even those who profess not to.

My recommendation: If you're going to write an opinion piece, be prepared to support it with facts and reporting.

 

[mustangj17]

I agree with Moddy. You can form your own opinion and never use the phrase "I" that goes for any subject, not just sports.

 

[Some Guy]

I agree with Moddy. You can form your own opinion and never use the phrase "I" that goes for any subject, not just sports.

I think you are correct ... ... dammit!

 

[badmoon]

"I don't like sports columnists."

That seems a fairly broad statement. Why do you feel that way?

 

[PeteyPirate]

Maybe the only one he knows is Jay Mariotti.

 

[buckweaver]

Everyone has an opinion. Even those who profess not to.

My recommendation: If you're going to write an opinion piece, be prepared to support it with facts and reporting.

Bingo. The best columnists, IMO, don't rely on "I" to make their point. They rely on reporting and legwork, same as always.

I had a column for a couple years, probably when I was too young to have one but they gave one to me anyway. Tried very, very hard to keep telling good stories and making observations, adding "I" only when absolutely necessary.

 

[txsportsscribe]

i was always taught there was no reason to have the word "i" in a well-written column.

 

[Tim Sullivan]

Read Red Smith. Read Jim Murray. Read Jimmy Cannon. Read Leigh Montville. And if you still don't like sports columns, read yourself the riot act.

 

[StraightEdge]

"I don't like sports columnists."

That seems a fairly broad statement. Why do you feel that way?

All I've seen of sports columnists are the loud-mouthed assclowns on TV or on the radio. I can't stand that ****. It's just people screaming half the time. It's worse than political radio talk shows.

I just don't see why anyone should give a **** about my opinion on something.

And, if columns aren't always opinions, what makes it any different from a feature?

 

[jgmacg]

What makes an essay different than a feature? What makes E.B. White different than W. C. Heinz? Or A. J. Liebling? What makes "Death of a Pig" different than "Death of a Racehorse"? What makes an observation different than an argument? What makes an opinion different than an assertion? What makes a sports story different than a stump speech?

Before you embark on this, you need to read very broadly and deeply across the form to understand what it is you're being asked to do. If all you know of columns is vitriol and spittle-flecked invective from the current school of bloggers, bloviators and contrarians, sobsisters, haircuts and grandstanders you need to work back across the greats already mentioned here. Add Baker and Buckley and Buchwald. Royko. Kempton.

A column, any column, is a 700-word opportunity to change minds; change hearts; change the world.

 

[buckweaver]

Well said, as usual, jgmacg.

I will amend your statement: If all you know of columns is "I" and "opinion," keep reading.

The best columns, in my opinion, are not always opinionated. A column is the most versatile assignment a newspaper writer can have. You can do anything you want with it.

 

[awriter]

Read Red Smith. Read Jim Murray. Read Jimmy Cannon. Read Leigh Montville. And if you still don't like sports columns, read yourself the riot act.

Read Bill Plaschke, Joe Posnanski, Mark Kriegel, Ian O'Connor, Mike Vaccaro, Pat Forde, David Hyde and John Canzano to name a few current columnists. One more thing, StraightEdge: If all you've seen are "loud-mouthed assclowns on TV or on the radio," then you're not looking hard enough and you're depriving yourself of an opportunity to grow as a writer.

 

[zebracoy]

Form an opinion. Tell a story. Be witty.

Show people why you were selected to opine in those 25 inches.

 

[slappy4428]

Nowhere does it say you have to use "I" to write a column.
Someone just pull you out of their ass to do this? I doubt it. There's a reason you were selected. My guess is you are opinionated.
Put it into words.

The best columns can tell a story -- doesn;t always have to be yours.

 

[StraightEdge]

I've found some stuff here and there from the names mentioned, and I'm definitely still in the camp that the column should be another form of telling someone else's story instead of putting my opinion out there. I'm still not convinced that people will want to wade through 18 inches of my opinion, even if I never use a single "I" or "my."

But I'll keep reading into these (would I be living the cliche if I started a subscription to SI?). It never occurred to me to think about writing columns. I was just told this week, 'hey, you're going to start a column.'

Thanks for the advice.

 

[huntsie]

A column can be whatever you want it to be. Opinion. A great human interest story. Funny. Whatever. It's yours. If you use it the right way, it's a great way to touch people. And sometimes, your opinion can help shape others, and that's important.
Good luck with it.