What the Heck’s a Deck?

Article anatomy point-one-oh-one

   Of the many parts of an article, a writer need only know five by name: Title, deck, lead, sidebar and cutline.

   A title introduces and sells the story. It can be cute and cosy - de rigueur for backyard birdfeeder magazines. The trade publications world is usually more restrained. There is the ‘just the facts M’am’ model, represented by titles such as my Parking Garage at Portland Int'l Includes Office Space & Green Features. Some magazines give writers wriggle room to innovate and even have some careful fun. I study each magazine’s style and frequently re-check even old acquaintances to make sure I don’t drift.

   In one trucking magazine I’ve given lonely readers titles like Lab Rats in the Bush and Snowball Fight! In another magazine, which caters to the managerial crowd, one of my favourites is Super Managing the Private Fleet.

   The deck is that short line – usually five to seven words long - between the title and the first paragraph. Usually rather dry, it briefly elaborates on the title. Not all magazines use them, but I like them: A deck makes the lead slightly easier to write, since it is no longer solely responsible for launching the reader into the story.

   The lead is the first paragraph. My native understanding has always been that it needs to contain the 5Ws: who, what, where, when and why. Some reporters like to dribble on uselessly for several paragraphs before they wake up to their real task, but I hugely disapprove. The lead is where readers either decide to pounce on your tasty story or wander off, unimpressed.

    Editors can be very fussy about leads and sometimes no amount of trying will perfectly satisfy. One long-time editor changes my leads so often it’s been a running joke for years. He called me once just to announce, “I didn’t change your lead!” I remember how it began: “Heavy industry loves a good river.” Irresistible, eh?

   What one editor likes, another might mock. I began an article on Toronto’s Pearson airport with “The enormous symmetries of Terminal New are irresistible, their slender forms reminiscent of a spaceport hailing travelers from other worlds.” Years later I recycled the line for another Pearson piece. The editor said, “Were you smoking dope when you wrote that?” I replied, “The last editor really liked it.”

   “Well, “ he countered, “He was a tosspot.”

Copyright © Carroll McCormick 2012

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What is a sidebar?

   This is a sidebar: a title and a few stand-alone paragraphs off to the side of the main article in a little box. It is a good place for something that does not fit well in the main body of the article, like a list of numbers.

This is a cutline: a short explanation of a photo. In this case: Me, 80 feet above the Gulf of Saint Lawrence on the Oceanex Avalon for my article Between the Docks.