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One of my pet peeves is articles that say twice that someone said something.
For example, “Jackson says he likes the way his career has been going. ‘I started out with no plan, just doing what I enjoyed,’ he says. ‘Now I realize that’s exactly what got me where I am today.’ ” Notice the repetition of “says”? Much better would be “Jackson says he likes the way his career has been going: ‘I started out with no plan, just doing what I enjoyed. Now I realize that’s exactly what got me where I am today.’ ” Or “Jackson says he likes the way his career has been going. ‘I started out with no plan, just doing what I enjoyed,’ he explains. ‘Now I realize that’s exactly what got me where I am today.’ ” The first option adds a colon before the quote, eliminating the duplicate attribution. The second keeps the original structure but replaces the redundant “says” with “explains,” avoiding the echo. There, I said it.
1 Comment
Ending an essay or article with a quote can strike a powerful note, but it’s so much more effective to close on the speaker’s words than the attribution. (Same goes for the end of a section.) I’m struck by how often writers—especially journalists—seem content to send readers on their way with “. . . he says” or “. . . she says.” It usually takes just a minor restructuring to conclude with the quote, and I can’t remember a single person complaining when I’ve edited a story this way. (I do it a lot.) “And that,” he said, “is the truth.” Categories Archives April 2019 |
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