EDITOR@WORK: October 2014

HEADLINE FOUND ONLINE: Mock GM: Jackson to Eagles, more trades we want to see...

The problem with this headline is Jackson. The Eagles traded DeSean Jackson to the Redskins in the offseason, and I wondered why they'd trade him back to the Eagles in midseason.

They wouldn't. The story is about Vincent Jackson, not DeSean. The headline deceives the reader, and the headline writer should have realized that in advance.

That's the problem with putting names in headlines. If you wrote a story about Emmitt Smith, you'd have to use his full name; too many Smiths out there.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

FOUND ONLINE: On a day when the Miami Dolphins finally won two games in a row and took a step in the right direction, their offense continued its season-long trend of inconsistent play.

In this sentence, it looks like the Dolphins won two games on the same day. Let's do a slight re-write:

On a day when the Miami Dolphins finally won their second game in a row and took a step in the right direction, their offense continued its season-long trend of inconsistent play.

Most readers would have understood that sentence, but I like precision.

ALSO FOUND ONLINE: Griping subject matter coupled with intense film shoots all throughout the English countryside is what led Pitt to provide such a stellar assessment of Shia’s acting chops.

This is from an article about a Brad Pitt movie. I hope they meant "gripping," not "griping."