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March 1, 2006
500 Words
That’s about one page, single-spaced or four long paragraphs.
This is the first time in a while I’ve had to write to strict space limits and it’s a fascinating exercise. It changes everything you do. I’ve had conversations with my friend Alexandra Tomalonis about newspaper style; as a writer for the Washington Post it is quite familiar to her. Those discussions came in handy.
The biggest difference is that I did not focus on what I thought was best about the performances. I focused on what was newsworthy; this meant concentrating on the new productions even they did not contain the best work of the weekend. The dancers only got mentioned in passing, and only selected dancers. There’s barely enough room to get the reader up to speed on the production itself. As Alexandra said, for a new production, review the production. If the production has already been written about, then review the performances.
You choose your details carefully. There’s about enough room to describe one moment in the ballet, it had better be emblematic. There’s also no room to cover your ass in 500 words. If you want to make an assertion, you have to make it without qualification. I only had room to say “Gonzalo Garcia that was the next best thing to seeing Jacques d’Amboise in the role [of Apollo]”; I didn’t have the room to explain why I felt that way even though I never saw d’Amboise dance the role.
As reportage, 500 words aren’t satisfying; I can barely give the reader an inkling what happened. But it is sufficient for summary and opinion and there are certain performances where that’s enough. I could see doing more of these, especially where I’m “checking in” on a familiar company or production.
Posted by Leigh Witchel at March 1, 2006 11:35 AM
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Comments
You could also say that 500 words is half a picture! LOL.
Posted by: Steve at March 1, 2006 11:49 PM
Very interesting reading these comments -- I write to length frequently, and 500 words is, while not generous, a very familiar length.
Yes, it's not anywhere near enough space to explain anything, but I can usually get the important images from a performance into those confines. Much better than doing a two week, multi-artist festival in 350 words!
Posted by: sandi k at March 3, 2006 6:43 PM
Or a history of all of modern dance from Isadora to Martha in 400 words! Remember that one?
Posted by: Leigh Witchel at March 3, 2006 6:49 PM