Jason’s thread made me think a little bit about what I’ll crassly call the “ultimate moment” that is death. We’ve touched on it in a couple of other threads, but I think it’s worth it’s own topic.

I’ll throw out three (OK, four) questions:

1) How do we deal with sudden death when we’re writing? Here’s a sports story that ran in the Washington Post last year where the story’s subject died midway through. It was one of the more curious pieces I’ve ever read because of the circumstances: http://tinyurl.com/yvfhtg

2) While I admit the situation from the previous story is rare, what we as writers deal much more frequently is the death of an idea. In other words, when a storyline or narrative or character fails us or doesn’t come through? What are some ways we recuperate from that?

3) Why are some of the best stories about death? Link from Gangrey about Nixon: http://tinyurl.com/2dt26r

4) How much power do we have and how scared and daunted and nervous does it make you feel? As an example, here’s a link about the sad ending to a sad story and situation: http://tinyurl.com/yo9fka. A couple years ago someone told me the writer’s mistake in the original story was to impose a narrative structure that didn’t fit the reporting. The facts weren’t wrong, but the context was. And that’s just as big, if not more of an error in my view.

ldillon - 19 March 2008 11:41 PM

3) Link from Gangrey about Nixon: http://tinyurl.com/2dt26r

Wow. Gee. I would argue that this piece isn’t about death at all, but about generations and crumbling institutions and epochal footprints ... it just happened that the EVENT for this august gathering was a dead guy.....

This is really some wonderful stuff. Guys, worth reading!

Coming from Graham, the words were especially poignant. He is the only American who claims the place of honor in our solemn national ceremonies, even above the sitting president. And once he was the vivid, virile lion of God, with a voice like Gabriel’s trumpet. Now he is a frail old man who struggles to his feet.

The senior men of the Nixon administration looked quite old: George P. Shultz, the all-purpose Cabinet secretary; the disgraced vice president Spiro T. Agnew, who emerged from his long seclusion clearly stooped; the foreign policy guru Henry A. Kissinger, who seemed small and somehow vulnerable.

ldillon - 19 March 2008 11:41 PM

3) Why are some of the best stories about death?

Well, the silence out there recently in Narrative Land has been deafening… Welcome back from the depths ...

Interesting question above. could it be (as we have discussed elsewhere in these Threads) that in the conflict/ obstacle/ confrontation department (core narrative requirements?), death is The Big Enchilada? Don’t know… Funny you mention, because every once in a while when I do a writing workshop and look at the story-example handout I have made, I see that a good number of them are about death and dead guys and dying and so I have to re-cast so as not to give the impression that most “great stories” are about The Big Inevitable… thots from Narrative Land?

My humble thoughts: Death is the ultimate conflict. There’s always something interesting surrounding someone’s death - even when there isn’t. One of the best stories I read was about a loner/hermit type person who died and no one knew for a few days.

Here’s an interesting item on Poynter about Gene Amole of the Rocky Mountain News back in 2002… He’d decided to write columns about the fact that he was dying.

http://www1.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.9764/content.content_view.htm

An exerpt:

The whole thing was Gene’s idea.

“The idea came to me during one of my long hospital nights while I was cursing away at the pain,” he wrote in the Oct. 26 column informing readers he was dying. “How many other folks were feeling what I felt, not knowing or understanding what the hell was happening to us?”

Anyway, I’m not sure if I’m adding anything here… I’m not really sure why we’re drawn to stories about death (both as journalists and readers)… maybe because it’s the one thing we all have in common? that one day we’ll all die… It’s the one thing we all relate to, no matter what.

Tanya Rose - 09 April 2008 01:55 PM

maybe because it’s the one thing we all have in common? that one day we’ll all die… It’s the one thing we all relate to, no matter what.

Tanya—interesting… yep, no matter what gender or race, how much money or how many miles you can pedal a bicycle, you’re just as dead as the next guy. BTW, Gene’s thing reminded me of my old friend Rob Borsellino from the DesMoines Register, who chronicled his dying of Lou Gehrig’s Disease… http://tinyurl.com/4x55rn ...

Hey you guys we need some new stories to talk about!!!!