Feature

Writing
By: Marilee Sarandin
 What is feature writing?
 Read more like nonfiction short stories.

 Have a beginning, middle and end

 Focus on facts likely to amuse,

entertain, inspire.
 Because of their emphasis, they are also
called human interest or color stories.
 Borrow techniques from
fiction
 Use extensive description
 Sensory details
 Quotations
 Anecdotes
 Characterization
 Setting
 Plot structure
 But they’re not fiction
 They must be:
 Factual
 Original
 Fair
 Balanced
 Objective
 Types of feature stories
 Profiles or personality profiles
 Describe interesting people
 Don’t just list their accomplishments or
important dates in their career.
 Reveal a person’s character
 Watch the person at home, work, etc.
 Interview friends, family, co-workers
 Your goal: To make the reader feel like
they actually know the person featured.
 Historical features
 Commemorate important dates
 How do you write historical
features?
 First, do your research.
 Find people who were there or
took part in the events.
 Adventure features
 Describe unusual and exciting
experiences
 Key are:
 Quotations
 Descriptions
 Seasonal features
 Stories about Christmas,
Easter, Valentine’s Day,
Thanksgiving, etc.
 The hard part: Coming up
with a new angle.
 Explanatory features
 Provide a detailed description
or explanation of things in the
news.
 They may examine an
organization, activity or trend.
 How-to features
 Tell the reader how to perform a task
 The key: Break down the task into simple, easy-to-
follow steps
 Organization: Give readers information in the order
they need it.
 Leads:
 The why-to: Tell readers why they should do
what you’re telling them to do
 The anecdote: A story about someone who did
what you’re telling the reader to do.
 The news: Something to be learned
 The middle
 Step-by-step: Take readers through each step of
the process.
 Round-up: Use numbers or bullets to separate
ideas
 The end
 A final anecdote
 A call to action
 Summary
 Behind-the-scenes
features
 Take readers backstage for an inside view of
an everyday event or person.
 Based on personal observation.
 How to do
 Interview source
 Visit him/her on location
 Use his/her words to tell the story
 Include description
 Personal experience
features
 No research
 No interviews
 But he sure to select a riveting
topic.
 Writing feature leads
 Doesn’t have to be just one graph

 Don’t include all the five W’s in the

lead
 Be objective. Use attribution for
opinions.
 Use strong, active verbs
 Types of feature leads
 Question
 Anecdotal
 Shocker
 Descriptive
 Delayed or narrative
 The body of a feature
story
 It can take a number of forms: inverted
pyramid, chronological, hourglass
 Transition is key
 Time: eventually, finally, next, then
 Addition: another, besides, again, too
 Causations: because, therefore, so
 Comparisons: Agree, differ, object
 Contasts: however, but, although
 Use mixture of quotations, description,
narrative
 Be specific
 Reveal your subject’s character
 Describe mannerisms, appearance
 Sprinkle information throughout the
story, not in one lump
 Describe the setting
 Use powerful direct quotations
 The ending
 Should give reader that “warm fuzzy”
feeling.
 Quotes
 Anecdotes
 Repeating key word/phrase in a
surprising way.

 AVOID SUMMARY ENDINGS

 Avoid the pitfalls
 Good stories come from good material.
Good material comes from good reporting.
 Don’t have a love affair with quotes that you
fail to paraphrase routine material.
 Know the tone of the story before starting to
write.
 Don’t tell when you can show people doing
things.
 Sources
 News Reporting and Writing, Melvin
Mencher.
 Professional Feature Writing, by Bruce
Garrison.
 New York Times
 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/sports/football/09football.html?hp

 Rocky Mountain News

 http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/news/finalSalute/