There's an old saying in journalism: "Less is more."
Forget about the times you wrote as much as you could about something in order to impress the teacher or give your reader the impression that you really know what you're talking about. In journalism brevity is key. Hard news stories must be concise or you'll confuse and lose the reader. While feature stories allow writers to be more descriptive and more creative, that doesn't mean you should necessarily start writing a lot more. Right now we're focusing on short profiles so that means first do thorough reporting and interviewing, then pick the very best information to write your story. Don't give the reader all of the information. While your words may be sacred to you, you have to be able to cut what's not necessary and edit wordy phrases.
Think of it as fat-free writing.
Click on the links below to see three more examples of 300-word stories by Brady Dennnis, then comment on which you like the best and why.
Looking for a laugh
One minute and $123 dollars
As time goes by
I think it's going to be hard writing short articles, but feature writing will give us more of an oppurtunity to write creatively. Looking for a Laugh showed that it doesn't take a lot of words to express a person's sadness. One minute and $123 was a well descripted story! As Time Goes By dipicts a man who has no other way to earn money but to sell potatos, watermelon, and blue gill. All three stories are interesting to read and they don't take much time to read. I loved all three stories!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the Looking for a Laugh article. It's so well written and it keeps you interested the whole article. It tells a sad story, but we can all relate to it. I know that I can. I especially like how short and sweet the article is. It leaves you wanting more at the end.
ReplyDeleteI really liked all of these articles. It's a hard thing to do, getting a story with such an impact to fit into 300 words. But when you get good at it, like Brady Dennis obviously is, then people really want to listen to what you have to say. And that's what makes you a great writer: people wanting to know what you're going to say next and loving it when it comes.
ReplyDeleteI liked all three articles, but my favorite was Looking for a Laugh. I liked how Brady Dennis is able to get the reader to feel bad for Nigel Davis in such a short story. I also liked how Dennis, in all three stories, was able to capture the reader so quickly, and make them want to read more. They were all great!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite article of the three is Looking for a Laugh.I think it's really cool how Brady Dennis was able to make people feel so symathetic for Nigel Davis in just 300 words. Dennis is a really talented writer. I also felt as though I learned a lot about Nigel Davis, in just the first two sentences and at the end of the article, I really wanted to learn more about him.
ReplyDeleteAll three articles were very intriguing and well written, but I think "Looking for a Laugh" stood out to me the most because of how much Brady Dennis connected you emotionally with Nigel Davis. Right away in the first sentence I was interested in the story he had to tell. However insignificant the bare story may have seemed (just a man trying to get some laughs at a comedy night and failing,) Dennis gave it some significance in the way he wrote it.
ReplyDeleteAll three articles were great and all of them wanted me to want more of a story but, i think my favorite was "One minute and $123 dollars". I really enjoy reading love stories and how people come to find each other and live happily ever after. I also thought the title really caught my eye and I wondered what's can be done in one minute and involve $123. I liked how they talked about their lives before they met each other and how they struggled but then they find each other and fall in love.
ReplyDeleteI could't decide between "Looking for a Laugh" and "As Time Goes By" as to which one was my favorite. I loved how in "Looking for a Laugh" it started out with the hardships of his life and then him saying all he wanted to do was to make people laugh. I want to read more about the life of Nigel Davis and I want him to succeed next time he is on stage. The way the writer wrote this article made me want to learn more about Davis' life.
ReplyDeleteIn "As Time Goes By" it shows the simplicity of the farmer's life and how all he needs is to be around the things he loves, his wife, his house and his church. It shows how time keeps on moving on and what Don Mullins sees everyday. I love how feature writing can be so simple yet so interesting to read and write.
These articles made me appreciate that three hundred words actually isn't that much to work with. Yet at the same time, they proved that one can indeed serve up a slice-of-life that is both brief and detailed.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite was the "One Minute and $123". Not really for the content so much as the story... it's difficult to explain. But that particular one didn't leave me with unanswered questions like the other two did. So maybe it's just me.
Still, it's good to see that this is doable, writing a feature in 300 words, and now I have a better sense of our assignment. Excellent.
My favorite article was "As Time Goes By". I thought it was very poignant and interesting. Whenever I go on a road trip, I see produce farmers like Don Mullins but I never stop to think about them. They must have an interesting life meeting so many different people while staying in the same spot the whole time. I love how the author takes an average mid-western farmer and makes an entertaining story about his life. It's a lot to live up to but it gives me motivation for our assignment!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of the three was, "Looking for a Laugh." This article caught my attention, because to me it seemed the most real. Brady Dennis expressed the most relatable emotion in his short story. As i continued to read i felt, as though i was pacing with him and then making the call to his fiance. In the other stories i didnt get the same feeling of relativity as i did with this one.
ReplyDeleteI am open to staring our new section with short stories and feature writing, but i also acknowledge that it wont be an easy task. In my opinion i think Brady Dennis's writings are a good model for the class.
I enjoyed all three articles but my favorite was "As Time Goes By". I really liked how Brady Dennis captured the simplistic lifestyle of Don Mullins. Mr. Mullins had everything important to him: his wife, his home, and his church, and even as time went by, he still had everything he needed. Even if the job of an average mid-western farmer seems insignificant, Dennis did an amazing job in turning it into an interesting story.
ReplyDeleteI would say "Looking for a Laugh" was my favorite article. It was the one that contained the most emotion and passion and really made me feel something inside. It was very well written with much impact and emotion. I liked how Nigel enjoyed making people laugh even though laughter was, for the most part, foreign to him. He wanted everything to be all right in the world for the people he entertained for those few minutes just so his audience could taste pure ecstasy. It was very sweet how he couldn't perform to his best ability because he missed his fiancée. This article was beautiful and very well-written.
ReplyDelete"Looking for a Laugh" was my favorite article. It defintely kept you interested in the story though it was a sad one. It was well written and very desriptive. I enjoyed the fact that the man was just an ordinary guy not being able to do his job well because he missed his fiancee. It was short, but it kept you interested until the very end.
ReplyDelete"Looking for a Laugh" was my favorite also. I could feel the emotion of Nigel, and i sensed the pain of his struggles. It's amazing how journalists can express that in 300 words. I like how these stories are about regular people too. You don't usually hear about regular stories like these. You hear about famous people, and their life is almost unreal. It's hard for us to relate to those stories, unlike these. Overall all three articles were well-written and interesting. I would say some were even more interesting than hard news stories.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is story by Brady Dennis 'Looking for a Laugh'. This particular story had the most impact in the writing. You really felt the sorrow of the struggling comedian, and you really felt the pain as the hardships in his life are stated. Brady Dennis is an excellent feature writer, and his stories really have an impact. 'As time goes by' and 'One mine and $123 dollars' also had an impact on me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the article " As Time Goes By". This reporter did an excellent job of depicting this man's life. The man in this article is content, maybe even happy with the way his life is. He enjoys company from all corners of the world without ever leaving his wooden produce cart. This article captures a man who is happy with himself in all of his simplicity. Brady Dennis shows us in very few words, that happiness can be achieved in the simplest ways. Dennis does an amazing job of gathering years of emotion, stories, and packing it into a 300 word article, something only a tue journalist can do.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the "One Minute and $123" story because I felt like it was more fun to read and more light-hearted. It amused me how their wedding takes barely longer than a minute, but the couple still sounded like they had a lot of love and respect for each other. I think the up-coming assignment we have will be different from what we have been previously doing, but it will only help us move forward. Feature writing is a favorite of mine. Maybe it's just my style ;)
ReplyDeleteI think that I liked looking for a laugh the most. I think I liked it the most because it was the one that I think was more interesting. Also I really liked the line that said that he was going home to the women that loved him even on unfunny nights. I think that this article tells you all about how hard it is for him to start a career in comedy but he is continuing to do it because he loves it and the writer tells you all that in under 300 words which is amazing.
ReplyDelete"One Minute and 123 Dollars" was, I think, my favorite out of the Brady Dennis stories. There's something to be said for the simplicity of getting married because you're genuinely in love and not concentrating on creating what you deem to be the perfect wedding to show off your utter joy. The background that was given, especially the information about how they met, was really well written and also to the point. Maybe it's just the fairy tale-influenced ideas instilled from childhood, but reading about two people who were both in less than perfect situations before being able to find happiness in such a simple way is really nice to read.
ReplyDeleteLaura Nowak
ReplyDeleteI liked the Looking for a Laugh story the best. It is told so well in only 300 words. The story was interesting, and gave you a lot of insight into a person's life. I believed the article was short, but very powerful.
The article "One Minute and $123" caught my attention. First it was the title, and then the story itself.
ReplyDeleteIt was really short, sweet, and to the point. It was only 300 words, and it kept me interested throughout. Without being extensively long, it gave all the information I needed to know.
I think that it is hard to write short articles, and still be able to capture the readers attention. When you are so limited with the amount of words you can use, it is hard to insert crativity, and even quotes. I think that the article Looking for a Laugh did a particualrly good job at being creative even with a limited amount of words. Brady Dennis did an exceptional job in all of these stories. They were too the point, and gave the facts, but they also entertain the reader.
ReplyDeleteThe first story, "Looking for a Laugh," was very dramatic for its length. I liked that the writer did not try to make a happy ending out of a sad story. It really was a window into the life of this person, which is the goal of these 300 word essays. The second story, "One Minute and 123 Dollars" showed that little bits of happiness are occuring all the time (every minute) and for little prices ($123). It did make me wonder if they really loved each other when the author said they only talked online and through a webcam, and when the two hugged instead of kissed when the were pronounced husband and wife. The third story, "As Time Goes By," made me wonder how the reporter found out abut this man. It was a very unique and interesting tale that would have taken some real digging to find.
ReplyDelete