100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019
Use quotes
Eleven ways to make people like what you write
Quotes are the words someone said to you when you interviewed her for your story, or short excerpts from some of the reading you did in your research. Quotes in your story will attract readers. The white space surrounding the quotes makes the typed or printed page less intimidating. And, more important, quotes create credibility.
In her book How Full of Briers: The Organizational Structure of the Non-Profit Theatre Corporation, my student Carol Dougherty provided her readers with a lot of nuts-and-bolts information on how a nonprofit theatre operates, what works, what doesn’t, and how theatres are organized. Here are two examples of how she made those facts stronger and more credible by seasoning her book with quotes from various people.
The composition of the Board is a matter of high priority to all parties involved in the theatre, as evidenced by this heartfelt plea by internationally renowned director John Neville: “Can there be an ideal board, small enough to be coherent, large enough to be representative; generous and wise enough to delegate comprehensively, but acute enough to rumble the phony; discreet enough not to interfere but quick enough to respond to the wishes of its community; average enough to represent the ordinary theatre-goer but special enough to have an insight into the world of professional theatre?”
Associate artist Susan Fleetwood tried to explain some of the qualities that make the Royal Shakespeare Company exceptional: “There are certain groups of people who quite by chance will find themselves working together with a director on a play, and magic will work. . . . More often than not, magic does occur in the Royal Shakespeare Company, and when it does, it is wonderful.”
Quotes must be used judiciously. You can’t just hang one up every time you want to cover a hole in your story.
Use a quote when the speaker’s words will achieve your goals more effectively than your own words.
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Better |
There are strong indications that a seedless watermelon will soon be entering the market and that Midwest will be one of the primary distributors. |
Bob Fredola, the nation’s leading watermelon expert, told me, “The seedless watermelon is a fact. I’ve seen it, I’ve tasted it, and I’m convinced that Midwest will be able to move three million of those suckers in the first year alone.” |
The people you interview often say things that are provocative, informative, and entertaining. However, they rarely say those things in a concise way. They ramble. They repeat. They reiterate.
If you quote people word for word, most of your quotes will be tedious and half of them will be incomprehensible. Unless national security is at stake, trim your quotes down to the words you need. It is perfectly appropriate to cut the fat from interviews and present to the reader only the meat of what the speaker said. However, cut carefully. A carelessly cut quote can change the meaning of the speaker’s words. You must remain true to the spirit of what was said, if not the form.
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Governor Cashman leaned back in his chair. “My first wife?” he said. “That was Evelyn, huh? Let me see . . . Let me . . . No, wait a minute. Let me put it this way. She was an interesting— Well, to tell you the truth, she was a shrew.” |
Governor Cashman leaned back in his chair. “My first wife?” he said. “That was Evelyn, and she was a shrew.” |