1. 2. 3.

What is feature writing? Feature story? Which would you rather read features or hard news? Why? Do you think you have what it takes to be a feature writer or coach to a student who writes features? Why do you say so?

The Art of Telling Stories

Features

are told in a less hurried and generally more creative way. Features almost never begin with the most important information like inverted pyramid stories. More stories are written in a feature style today.

Trend

stories report on changes that happen gradually over time. Its often a good idea to personalize the leads of these stories.

Profiles

tell the story of a person or persons. Human interest stories in some way tell us more about what it means to be human. They have little impact; sometimes profiles can be human interest stories.

sidebar accompanies a hard news story and is written in a feature style. A followup runs a day or more after the main news story and reports on results of earlier developments.

Surveys

say they dont, often commenting reading them feels like work. They tolerate the inverted pyramid because it delivers the news quickly.

They

want interesting, real stories about people they know. They also like controversy and interesting issues.

Not

very often. Most papers and yearbooks ignore thousands of story-telling chances every year.

Exhibit

A: Laura Orr has been named Student of the Month. Laura is a senior and last week was named the most valuable player on the state championship volleyball team. Her favorite activities include water skiing, tennis, reading and watching movies.

Exhibit

B: In a teenagers life, one thing is always true: The need for money is the same. Some teens can get money by working in stores or by doing odd jobs, but perhaps the most popular way to earn fast money is through baby sitting . . .

Exhibit

B: In a teenagers life, one thing is always true: The need for money is the same. Some teens can get money by working in stores or by doing odd jobs, but perhaps the most popular way to earn fast money is through baby sitting . . .

Exhibit

C: February is Black History Month, and the school will again participate in a wide variety of activities commemorating the many contributions blacks have made to the United States and the world.

Abandon

the inverted pyramid and use features leads and style.

Focus

on a single person for your

lead. Tell the story through one persons eyes; this requires good reporting.

Focus

on an incident or anecdote. Retell a specific moment or scene for your lead. Show, dont tell.

Try

a startling statement or dialogue or other devices.

Describe

a setting as a way of establishing the theme of a piece

Exhibit A: Laura Orr never set out to be the AllAmerican girl. It just turned out that way. She plays volleyball because it clears her mind, she said. Shes not sure why shes so good at it. I enjoy it so I work at it a little hard, I guess, she said. Her parents have always stressed academics, so its no surprise shes an honor roll student. Theyve never really pushed me, but I understand their expectations, she said. (focus on an individual, somewhat of a startling statement)

Exhibit B: It took only a second. Sophomore Clyde Zeigler turned his back on Josh long enough for the mischievous 8-year-old to open the backyard gates, allowing the three black Labradors to escape into the neighborhood. I really panicked, Clyde said. The last thing Mr. Nelson, Joshs father, told me was to make certain the dogs didnt get out of the yard, and just like that they were gone. I chased them down for an hour. Welcome to the wonderful world of baby-sitting. (startling statement combined with an anecdote)

Exhibit C: History teacher and coach Dennis Sims remembers his high school days all too well, and the memories arent good ones. Although I lived only a mile from school, I was forced to attend an all-black school, he said. We werent allowed to mingle with the white kids even though Id played with many of them all my life. He said remembers how members of his family were denied basic rights such as voting and recalls the night a band of thugs lynched a young black man for talking to a white girl. I grew up in a segregated community that treated us harshly, he said. Thank God thats all changed. As evidence, the school will again participate in Februarys Black History Month, and Sims will be in charge of the annual event. (focus on an individual combined with an anecdote)

The

billboard or so-what graph This comes after the feature lead. (Feature leads can be several paragraphs.) It tells what the story is about.

In the black sand in front of his bare feet a shirtless man named Jaide is tidying up a capital P, as in Phoenix. Squatting on his heels, he carefully removes what looks like a giant aluminum cookie cutter, then flicks away stray bits of sand with a stick. Next he dusts the sand with graphite powder and covers it with a box made of molded clay and sand. Molten pig iron is poured in through a hole. When the iron cools, the box comes off, revealing a 200-pound masterpiece entitled Phoenix Sanitary Sewer. To his government, Jaide is a small but vital part of Indias drive to increase exports and earn foreign exchange. To some of his competitors in the U.S., however, he is part of a network engaged in unfair competition. U.S. foundries claim India is dumping manhole covers.

 Keep

related material together Divide piece into sections. Each section tells a different part of the story. End stories in memorable ways. Often its good to use a quote. This is called a clincher.

Feature stories should be like the lion kings friends, they bring smile to our face. They make us want to sing and dance. They are fun and captivating.

Feature stories should be like Ray, the mouse accidentally falling off and keeping us thinking about whats next? It makes us want to read some more. Its like youre reading an article and youre hooked! You cant bring the copy down unless youre through reading it. Wow! What a story!

Lastly, feature stories should be like a song that people would want to read on and on. A song that would connect them with people around them like the effect of carefully written feature stories. They impact on peoples lives.

Oops, heres another one feature stories should be like this anti boredom campaign. It tells us to think out of the box. Get rid of those used and abused style. They had their time in the past. Now its time for you to innovate!

The next time you think of writing a feature story or coaching a student for feature writing think about the funny and captivating lion Kings friends, get hooked with Ray the Mouse, the soulful song,the unconventional, out-of-the-box antiboredom campaign and the person sharing this with you Lerma Labrador-Flandez! Thanks and Happy feature writing!