Ah, journalism
An article appeared in The Sun earlier this week with an Evocative Ah lead.* You know the sort: Ah, summertime! Or Ah, ripe peaches! Or Ah, homicides! The Evocative Ah opening is so versatile that it can be used in any season, for any subject, and is equally meaningless for all of them.
The Evocative Ah is not alone. Writers of limited imagination draw on a store of stock leads — of which the “not alone” lead/transition is one of the more annoying. It can be safely deleted whenever it pops up.**
Some years ago, the estimable Dick Thien made a list of these brain-dead formulas, and the American Copy Editors Society maintains the list on its website. He has the “Webster’s defines” lead, the one-word lead, the faux-King-James-English lead, the “good-news-bad-news” lead (though he unaccountably omits the “best-of-times-worst-of-times” lead), the “welcome to” lead, and more.
My suggestion to you is to follow the link to Mr. Thien’s compilation, consider it carefully, recollect how often you have resorted to such hack writing, and vow to sin no more.
*Sorry. I didn’t clip it, and the recycling truck has already run today. Visualize.
**It was after I deleted this hoary device from a Sun article that the author complained to me, “It’s not a cliche when I use it.” I am not making this up, you know.
Comments
On my list of deletable transitions: To be sure ...
Posted by: Ben Welter | July 30, 2010 11:22 AM
I would add to Dick Thien's wonderful list what we used to call in Grand Rapids, Mich., "the pie that never was eaten" lead. This lead contains two or three paragraphs of day-in-the-life description until we reach the paragraph that begins "Sadly," or sometimes, "Ironically," and the shocking point of it all becomes clear: that pie left to cool is but a sad testament to the frailty of human existence.
Posted by: Mark Allen | July 30, 2010 11:48 AM
I wonder how many of those I could get away with using in an academic paper?
The "He leaned back.." is probably the most difficult: "The Sprague-Dawley rat leaned back in its cage, thoughtfully chewing a pellet, knowing it had successfully negotiated the most difficult T-maze in its brief existence. "
Posted by: Janne | July 30, 2010 11:57 AM
Ah, to read and write english ! Assuming we can all speak the language.
The Internet will hopefully help to increase the use of the English language in this country.
Posted by: English Language Advocate | July 31, 2010 4:56 PM
On current evidence, I would say that English Language Advocate's wish is futile.
Posted by: Dahlink | August 3, 2010 2:27 PM