Here is a link to a story I had to write in about 15 minutes last football season (read with my apologies—antiquated computer system + poor editing = dropped punctuation marks): http://www.sun-herald.com/SportsNews/sportsnews.cfm?id=204

As an athlete, I find that the things I remember about my athletic career are not necessarily games or seasons or even trips, but certain moments. I remember scoring my first goal in soccer when I was about 8 years old (a two-man break I one-timed with my right foot in front of the keeper ). I remember sitting in the locker room, crying with my basketball team when we came in second in the state tournament my junior year of high school (but I can’t remember who we played or what the score was or if I even played in the game). I remember one of my teammates repeating, “It’s too damn hot...” over and over during the playoffs of my summer baseball season when I was in middle school. These moments define those seasons for me, mostly to the exclusion of everything else that happened.

So my questions: Is there ever a time when a moment is enough to define a narrative? What if I am constrained by lack of time and/or space? Is it just me that feels one defining moment serves to satisfactorily represent a larger period of time, or am I shortchanging myself by neglecting the broader picture?

I hope these questions open up a larger discussion that some of you have already touched on in the FELONY thread about shorter narratives. Writing 120 inches of copy on a compelling topic is one thing, but trying to squeeze something compelling out of a 1-0 high school softball game in 30 minutes in 15 inches or less can truly be a tall task.

Ideas or thoughts?

Jason Elek - 05 March 2008 01:17 AM

http://www.sun-herald.com/SportsNews/sportsnews.cfm?id=204
So my questions: Is there ever a time when a moment is enough to define a narrative?

Jason—great topic! I changed the name of the thread to MOMENTS, to expand it out from just sports, as this is a wonderful topic to explore. (V. nice little 330 word piece, btw—guys, worth reading. It captures a season in a snapshot...) ... Sports, to be sure, offers up the classic opportunity for those “defining moments...”

Am guessing one of the classic “moments” to define a narrative is Remembrance of Things Past, where Proust drops a madeleine in his tea and .....” soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate, a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, but individual, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory--this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me, it was myself. I had ceased now to feel mediocre, accidental, mortal. Whence could it have come to me, this all-powerful joy? I was conscious that it was connected with the taste of tea and cake, but that it infinitely transcended those savours, could not, indeed, be of the same nature as theirs. Whence did it come? What did it signify? How could I seize upon and define it?

Guys—let’s find “Moment” stories (sports or otherwise) and post. This is a v. cool topic. The more moments, the merrier.
Thoughts on Jason’s good question, “is there ever a time when a moment is enough to define a narrative...?”

folks—it’s not a Moment, but it’s a GREAT sports narrative!

http://tinyurl.com/y22eps

fyi

Mary Ann - 05 March 2008 05:39 AM

Jason Elek - 05 March 2008 01:17 AM

http://www.sun-herald.com/SportsNews/sportsnews.cfm?id=204
So my questions: Is there ever a time when a moment is enough to define a narrative?

Jason—great topic! I changed the name of the thread to MOMENTS, to expand it out from just sports, as this is a wonderful topic to explore. (V. nice little 330 word piece, btw—guys, worth reading. It captures a season in a snapshot...) ... Sports, to be sure, offers up the classic opportunity for those “defining moments...”

Guys—let’s find “Moment” stories (sports or otherwise) and post. This is a v. cool topic. The more moments, the merrier.
Thoughts on Jason’s good question, “is there ever a time when a moment is enough to define a narrative...?”

It’s funny you bring this up. I’ll post my favorite one from my sports past. This was actually first newspaper story that made me realize that you really can have fun writing just about anything no matter the subject ... http://tinyurl.com/2x329v

ldillon - 19 March 2008 11:16 PM

[ This was actually first newspaper story that made me realize that you really can have fun writing just about anything no matter the subject ... http://tinyurl.com/2x329v

“ Before her team began its balance beam routines at yesterday’s Aloha Classic gymnastics invitational, Stonewall Jackson Coach Karen Lutman taped up a shirtless picture of actor Josh Hartnett on the wall facing the landing area at one end of the beam. Practically, the picture served as something for the gymnasts to focus on as they dismounted, a reminder to keep their heads up.

Less practically, the picture was, in the words of junior Kelsey Deitz, “hot.”

Liam—nice hit! Good topic—when did you first realize that a story could be “different...” i.e., a moment, a feeling, a narrative, an inside-the-head look, a frame on life, etc., versus a news or a feature or a sports story? Once you realized, what were (are) the hurdles?

Folks, in honor of Jason’s Good Thread, here is a lovely MOMENT story (Hi, Lane!)

http://tinyurl.com/2mgkh2