Writing, schmiting

The unsteady pile of books atop the dresser in my childhood bedroom, where I write these lines, is an all-too-obvious example of the importance of good writing.
At the bottom of the edifice, the last Goncourt prize – on this rare occasion, won by an American – which will likely remain unopened; it was passed on to me after two family members gave up on it, and I have learned to trust their judgment. Above it, three non-fiction books about the history, the bad stuff and the good stuff – in that particular order – going on in Africa. An old receipt has marked the same page for weeks in the first one; the other two were never opened. Finally, one more much-publicised book that I found so pedantic I couldn’t get past a third of what is a rather thin paperback, and on top a Spanish dictionary, for good measure in my new job.
To the right of the dresser, my nightstand. On it, a 607-page brightly colored hardback whose murder all the other children’s books must be plotting. I read it in the past 24 hours, cover to cover, with short sleeping breaks when my sanity was threatened. Still, Harry Potter, still, you say? Well… yes, she says with an apologetic smile. But only to make a point: write well. Take the reader and don’t let them go. Make an 11 year-old read seven thick hardbacks in under a month.
Not an earth-shattering point, I’ll admit, but a necessary one. I read tons of newspaper stories everyday, and only rarely do I get really taken in by one. When I do, it’s often more for the information it unveils than for its prose. I am hungry for a really good newspaper story, the kind I want to clip and keep in my book of inspiring writing, which at this point only contains quotes and excerpts from fiction books.
Maybe we just got lazy. I don’t exclude myself from this. Just look at this, this and this. A descriptive lede once in a while doesn’t hurt, but in every story? I got lazy, too. I figured out how to write a half-decent lede and started using the same technique every single time. Sure, we all have a style we stick to. Sure, we work on daily deadlines and often have to settle for good enough. We won’t put out a Pulitzer every day. But, come on. At this point, I’d applaud any paper that tries to do something different, even if it turns out lame. Write a sonnet, write a song, a haiku, a riddle. Anything but A.P. style. I see much more inspiration in radio these days with addictive shows such as RadioLab, Wiretap or This American Life. Or am I wrong? Can you think of newspaper equivalents? Any writing you want to point me to?
J.K. Rowling’s writing can be brilliant. It is also at times lengthy and clunky, but we stick with her because of the mind-blowing world she created. Journalists don’t get to create worlds, so we’ll just have to stick to brilliant writing. Good luck everyone.
Nonconstructive rant inspired by another brilliant Roy Peter Clark Poynter column.