A story of any length that lacks quotes is as barren as a lunar landscape. Unfortunately, we ve encountered so many articles here at GunGames that are generously sprinkled with quotes that are neither brief nor brilliant but lifeless and verbose. Sometimes it s not the writer s fault. But as a writer, you can be selective about what you use. Too many contributors seem to assume that quotation marks, by themselves, can transform a grunt into a great fugue.
Skilled writers know how to patiently cast their lines until a few gaudy fish rise to the bait.
Like other facts, quotes are not subject to revision. Once words are enclosed by quotation marks, they must be what the source said. Attempts to improve that by reshuffling or even changing words are high crimes and misdemeanors in journalism. The furthest you can go is to fix minor grammatical errors and omit pure padding or meaningless repetition. Good quotes should summarize what s on a person s mind, crystallize an emotion or attitude or offer an individual perspective of some sort preferably in a concise and interesting way.