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May 08, 2005
shake it off, that's how you play it off
Sportswriting. I think it is one of the most difficult genres--2 parts fact, 1 part dream. I've done very little of it, my best friend Ed has done a lot of it. I think it is something you are born with, the ability to write the result of a game or match in a way that is beautiful to read.
Anthony Castrovince is the beat writer for MLB.com covering the Cincinnati Reds. You can see his stuff here. He's the inspiration for this first writing-specific post.
Mr. Castrovince has to write every single day about the same thing, the Cincinnati Reds. Most days there is a game to cover, but he also publishes the Reds Notes and features articles. How do you keep things from getting boring? That's the 1 part dream.
If you read his articles, they aren't boring. They are injected with personality and pizazz, penache and a penchant for particularly good prose. How's that for a lot of Ps in a sentence? Anyway, Mr. Castrovince does a lot with what could be a little; that is, with such a specific topic, keeping it interesting for so long could be difficult.
Obviously, he's writing for a specific audience. There are genre-specific modes and operations. But a truly good sportswriter takes those and expands them into experiences.
Keep up the good work, Mr. Castrovince.
Posted by ashersky at May 8, 2005 07:50 PM
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Comments
Hey, man, where are you living now? No, I mean where in Florence? I'm at an Internet cafe because I can't find your apartment.
Posted by: Eddie D. at May 15, 2005 01:26 PM