How to Become a Sports Website Writer
No field has more opportunity for success and failure than the world of sports writing. The explosion of the online sports writing community, blogs and even fantasy football has created a large market for quick-witted minds to make a name for themselves by tirelessly working for interviews and breaking stories. The key to success in becoming an online sports writer rests with the writer, and how much he's willing to work to achieve name recognition.
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Instructions
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Becoming an Online Sports Writer
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Develop a sports vocabulary. A sports writer has to be able to communicate an opinion or situation intelligently using the terminology and nomenclature of a given sport with ease. Watch sporting events as often as possible, paying attention to stat lines and the vernacular of the game. A sportswriter, online or in print, may be asked to cover any number of sports, so a working knowledge of all types of sport is recommended. Learn the positions and personalities of each sport in an effort to increase versatility.
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Start a sports blog. The world of sports blogging has exploded in recent years, with anyone with a personal computer seeking to inject his opinion into the sports world. Blogging will help hone your writing style and create informed pieces that will act as a writing portfolio when looking for professional online gigs (e.g., foxsports, espn, nfl.com). Many blog writers began by blogging about sports online and now have regular online columns with major sports networks like espn.com. Sportsblognet.com is a free means by which writers can get started sports writing in the blog-o-sphere.
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Write at least one article a day. Posting at least one story a day on your blog will help build readership and an air of dependability. People will read what's being written as long as they can depend on it being there. Also, fill your article with details to give the reader a finely tuned picture of the issue being discussed. "The use of substantial details draws the reader into the scene and thus into the article," writes Thomas Fensch in his book "The Sports Writing Handbook." "You can think of observed details as small brushstrokes that fill in a painting; without these details, the painting, the scene, lies lifeless on the page."
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