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Comment by techsupporter | Hacker News Reader

Maybe as a way to help compartmentalism from what the article is describing, I keep wondering: why do “long form” stories all seem to follow the same script?

- Introduction to the subject

- Introduction to the “characters”

- “Dramatic thing began to happen, with seemingly innocuous steps taken towards the unforeseen conclusion, but then, as the thing begins to unfo—“

- “Back in 1823, when the ancestor of the grandfather of the person who first set these steps tangentially in motion was born, baby rattles were just becoming popular...” [119 paragraphs giving a detailed biography of the main person]

- “And now, the conclusion...”

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I hate that script. I like reading long articles, but I can't read articles written like that.

I much prefer the "newspaper article" script: Short summary, then detailed long story. It's similar, except that the summary doesn't end in a cliffhanger that makes you want to skip to the end of the article.

The answer, maybe the one you're looking for is that the schema you describe is suitable for blowing up into longform stories that could be equally well-suited to be treated in 400 words or less.

The question would be, do we care for longform as a format (as opposed to having bite-sized stories with links between them if they're part of something bigger)? Or do we care about stories that have substantial background that needs to be explained (rather than be a tangential addition to a main story)?

It’s the same formula that recent documentary makers use to stretch out a relatively simple true crime story that happens to have a weird twist into ten one hour episodes.

It is not only suitable to blow it up but also to shorten it in any way you want. You just omit literaly any paragraph and the reader is still able to grasp the story. Also, using this format the story can be extended anytime without restructuring the text.

But yeah, I agree it is not enjoyable to read.

>- Introduction to the subject

...containing detailed descriptions of one or more of the following:

* The weather at the chosen time of introduction

* One or more anatomical features and/or pieces of attire of the subject

* A mode of transport/vehicle used by the protagonist

* Some arbitrary item with personal value to the protagonist

And so on.

Like straight from a "My first novel" writing course. It's grating.

I call that the 'NPR Radio Style' and I totally despise it.

It's cancer.

I call this the “Cloud Atlas” style, and I hate it.

exactly! you have nailed this annoying format to the floor with a nuclear-powered hammer and half a billion titanium nails.

unfortunately it always rises again...

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