There are two impulses at work in the successful writer: a desire to say something and be heard saying it; and, a desire to self-educate through experimentation.
The Oilogosphere has more than its share of the writers confined to the former impulse. A team as Gord-Awful as the Oilers and a market as hockey-infused as Edmonton, is bound to conspire in the creation of all manner of ranters, ravers, armchair GMs, etc. By and large, these folks are uninteresting writers. They arrive at the keyboard with the problems solved.
Far more interesting, are those writers who enjoy the second impulse (let’s stipulate that the first impulse is simply a necessary condition for writing anything regardless of its quality). These are writers who see writing as an opportunity to unravel questions, experiment with ideas and generally they take greater joy in the discovery of a problem to be chewed on than in a quick-fired hot take of a solution.
The joy of a problem is the joy of unwrapping a giant box of bulk Lego pieces: an indefinite future awaits you and you are bound to learn something as you marshal resources new and old, attempt to create solutions and share your provisional assessments with others.
It is this kind of joy that Nietzsche spoke of so fondly c. 1886 in both the preface to his republication of Human, All Too Human, “Here – a new problem!,” (§7) and in Beyond Good and Evil, when discussing his ideal “philosophers of the future,” “I venture to baptize these philosophers with a name not without danger in it… as attempters” (§42), for which he “expressly emphasiz[es] experiment and the delight in experiment” (§210).
I think we find something of this spirit of experimentation in the writing of Jeremy Wright. Reviewing his output here at the Rig, one finds a writer wondering about the game of hockey. He approaches his topics as questions. What am I to make of the numbers and narratives surrounding two young defensemen? How can I contextualize a budding star on a lousy team? In posts like these (and the Schenn posts Jeremy links to in his interview), one meets a writer on the job, working through problems and teaching us interesting things as he learns them himself. Jeremy gave us some insight into his approach in piece he wrote about the importance of experimenting with new tools and how such experimentation need not come at the cost of the deeply felt human need to structure experiences in narrative form.
Aside from his ventures as a hockey writer, Jeremy is an exceptional friend. During my short time here at the Rig, I’ve come to prize him along with all the other Rigists. He’s been very helpful, funny and enthusiastic about my own venture into hockey writing. I’m delighted to introduce you to him.
Jeremy, as it happens, is the proud father of 478 boys, because “who don’t like kids?” (“You got a cigar, here’s a couple more/Because the offspring are springing through swinging doors.”) When I asked him what song he’d like to accompany this post he said, “You pick the song. Something that captures the essence of the consumed parent.”
I picked “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!” by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. I think it captures that strange balance of joy and exhaustion that parenting brings.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4rXEKtC8iY&w=560&h=315]1. When did you start writing about hockey? What got you into it?
I started just over a year ago at my own blog called Hockey Night in Rolly View. Like most people who blog about the Oilers, I have been a lifelong fan. I spend/spent a lot of time talking aobut them with friends so I was convinced by my cousin Wes, to start writing.
Long and short is that my brilliant opinions;) were being squandered in petty arguments lol. Another way to explain it is that they grew weary of my smarmy, know-it-all-ness. What I realized quickly once I started is that I really enjoyed the process. It’s a cathartic release and forces you to deepen your understanding of what you are writing about. I do wonder what it would be like to write about a winning team though!
2. Are there any writers that you look up to? If so, who are they and why?
I’ve always enjoyed, and I like to think I try to emulate, Lowetide’s levelheadedness (most often falling short). I’ve always enjoyed Pat MacLean’s ability to weave the human touch into his blogs and Wanye’s humour has always been something that I can’t get enough of. Tyler Dellow is brilliant and on my best days I hope to be a quarter as insightful, and thorough, as he is (was?). There are many talented people in the sphere though. I wish I had more time to read all of them!
I would be remiss to not mention the writers at C&B. They are a talented bunch and I’ve taken away many a lesson from their content. I would be remiss, again, if I didn’t mention the numerous intelligent individuals who comment at LT’s, C&B and, formerly, MC79. There are many who could start writing based on the thought they put into their comments and their commentary is quite often what gets me thinking when my noggin is void of good ideas.
3. If you could give any advice to people interested in getting into writing about sports…what would it be?
Just do it. Work to your strengths and make sure you edit, re-edit and edit one more time so you don’t sound like a fool. If written grammar isn’t your strength, make it one. Writing well structured sentences goes a long way in portraying your ideas, even when its something that most everyone else is saying/writing. A big thing is don’t be worried about what people think of your writing. You’ll probably take some time to really discover your voice, but once you do it will be very rewarding.
4. Do you specialize in types of writing (analytical, post/pre game blogs, prospects, opinion pieces…all of the above)?
I take an analytics approach to my writing while mixing in some opinion. I really find that when you are trying to portray an idea, backing it up with tangible evidence gives you context that people can verify. Anyone can write an opinion, but can you make people believe what you are writing? That’s the challenge for me and analytics makes it doable.
As a fan of the worst team in the NHL, I also have ample opportunity to pull off the odd epic rant. I have been known to get in touch with my inner self and write a feely piece on occasion as well.
5. Do you have a favorite article that you’ve written or one that got a lot of positive feedback or criticism? Tell me a bit about it.
I wrote this touchy feely piece during a short hiatus back at HNRV that really connected with people. I would say it touched people… but that’s just weird and creepy. For the Oilers Rig my best work was this spoofy piece that got some good laughs and feedback and this 2 part analytics piece on Brayden Schenn was pretty popular. I’m still waiting for my big break though. That piece that gets linked by a bunch of sites and really gets you noticed… The ego pumper(!) is what I call it.
6. What sites do you currently write for? Favorite team(s)?
Although I have been very sparse in my creation of content over the summer (by sparse I mean I’ve done nothing and let the others ‘push the river’) I am still a card carrying member of The Oilers’ Rig.
I only cheer for one team… the better question to ask is who don’t I cheer against…
7. Where can we find you on social media? Twitter/Facebook etc.
You can follow and banter with me on Twitter, @borisnikov. My email is [email protected].
[adsanity id=1808 align=alignnone /]Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
