A feature story lead needs to attract the reader and draw him/her to continue following the story. The emphasis should be on human interest opposed to the immediacy of the event, leaving the reader feeling like they need to know more.
When writing a good feature story it is important to remember one thing, it is not a straight news story. Meaning that following the inverted pyramid style is not necessary, rather in a logical and chronological order. A feature story should engage the reader’s emotions and interests from the lead to the final paragraph.
A good, strong feature story contains very vivid descriptions. It is important to draw the reader a picture rather than simply telling them. For example, instead of stating how the speaker was tall, a good feature story will say something along the lines of, “The speaker’s head brushed the top of the door was as he approached the podium.”
Writing a feature story should be short, sweet and to the point. It is not the type of article that would exceed say 700 words. Once the important and interesting facts are displayed, follow them by many and strong quotes.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Now for our Feature Presentation
Features are a different form of news story. A traditional article is a report on a certain event or happening that has taking place in the area that the news outlet reports to. A feature is a interest story done on a person, place, or thing that goes into detail about the trials and events that the subject has taking part in.
Features can be about many different things. One common feature story is that of a specific person of interest. This person can have some kind of connection with the community the story is presented to, or just prove to have some significance to the reader.
Features usually begin with a story that proves that the information that will be presented is relevant and captivating to the reader. It then goes into more depth about how the subject got to where they are today, usually dealing with what obstacles the subject has had to overcome to achieve the status in which they currently reside.
The way to make a good feature is for the journalist to get involved in the subject that they are researching. If the writer is actually interested in what they are reporting, it makes for a much better news story.
Features can be about many different things. One common feature story is that of a specific person of interest. This person can have some kind of connection with the community the story is presented to, or just prove to have some significance to the reader.
Features usually begin with a story that proves that the information that will be presented is relevant and captivating to the reader. It then goes into more depth about how the subject got to where they are today, usually dealing with what obstacles the subject has had to overcome to achieve the status in which they currently reside.
The way to make a good feature is for the journalist to get involved in the subject that they are researching. If the writer is actually interested in what they are reporting, it makes for a much better news story.
What's a lead?
Leads are can be very tricky to write. In two sentences the writer needs to get the essential information across to the reader. This should preferably be in an eye catching ‘hook’ form.
A hook is a form of writing that is meant to entice and catch a reader using as few words as possible.
A lead also tells the reader what is relevant in the story they are about to read. If the reader doesn’t get to the end of the story they will still get the general idea of what is going on in the story.
This is important because people want their news fast and easy. Readers don’t want a piece that will take them hours to read. They want to get most of the information fast. A lead will help them get that information and hopeful make them want to read more.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Interesting Feature Stories
What makes a good feature story? I remember my mom having me read a feature story that she liked, and I ended up liking it too. It was about a journalist trying out for the musical production RENT that would be taking place near us.
The reason why we both enjoyed the feature was because it was funny and interesting. The more humor and details, the better the feature story will be. Feature stories should also be creative. They are fun to read, because they usually cover a lot of topics that can be random sometimes. A good feature story could be something crazy like a journalist describing their experience scuba-diving with sharks. Another example of a feature story could be someone writing about a big concert. The good thing about feature stories is that a lot of the time, the readers can relate to the journalist. Features are also fun for journalists to write, because the journalists can sometimes be themselves.
Features should also relate to a big audience, and be something that both young adults and adults can enjoy. Every feature story should appeal to the reader like all other types of stories you see in the news.
The reason why we both enjoyed the feature was because it was funny and interesting. The more humor and details, the better the feature story will be. Feature stories should also be creative. They are fun to read, because they usually cover a lot of topics that can be random sometimes. A good feature story could be something crazy like a journalist describing their experience scuba-diving with sharks. Another example of a feature story could be someone writing about a big concert. The good thing about feature stories is that a lot of the time, the readers can relate to the journalist. Features are also fun for journalists to write, because the journalists can sometimes be themselves.
Features should also relate to a big audience, and be something that both young adults and adults can enjoy. Every feature story should appeal to the reader like all other types of stories you see in the news.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Elements of a Feature
Writing a feature should not be a horrible process. Features can be made fun because they do not have to be a hard news story. The feature can be set up like a hard news story if the reporter wants, but usually features are set up as soft news.
The soft news lead should set up the story, but also capture the audience and make them want to continue to read the story. With the use of foreshadowing, exposition, characters, scenes, anecdotes, and dialogue a successful feature can be written.
Exposition is the ordering of the facts within the story. Foreshadowing gives the audience a hint as to what is happening and keeps the audience wanting to find out what is going to happen next. Anecdotes give the audience an answer to the story so they will finally find out what is going on. The characters can set up scenes and dialogues between each other so the readers are put into the story; it seems like they were there when the event happened.
If each of the elements are put into the feature and it flows nicely, then the audience will be enticed with the feature.
Why do feature stories matter?
Feature stories are one of the most critical elements to a journalist's repertoire's. They allow the writer to develop their story with more flexibility and opportunity.
A feature story focuses in-depth on a topic and includes more narrative elements than news stories typically do. A good feature story may include a multi-paragraph introduction instead of a crammed lead sentence found in most news stories.
The story can't be confusing, or the reader will ditch it immediately. It needs to flow through the pages and carry all the emotions that the writer wants to convey about this particular story.
A feature writer has a couple of advantages over news writers, as their deadlines are far looser and they face less reprimand if their story is delayed. Obviously, the news carries more urgency.
Journalists pride themselves on their ability to craft a piece of material which portrays the events covered in a faithful, honest, and informative way that will give the reader more than enough information about the topic. Feature stories are a way for them to illustrate not only the topic and its intricacies, but also their writing skills and ability to captivate.
What makes a good feature story?
A feature isn't like writing a story using the inverted pyramid. Instead, a feature is a long, more extended story about a certain subject or issue. A good feature story is just like a news story, containing elements of news, and giving more about what the news means. Features will also have more photos and graphics attached to it to give it a reader-friendly approach.
The most important part of a feature is the element of surprise. Features don’t have to be read by anybody, so the language and the idea should engage the reader’s emotions or interests quickly and reward them for reading.
A good feature will also have a good first paragraph that will draw the reader in. After the first paragraph the feature will continue with transitions to the proceeding paragraphs. Its important for the transitions to flow properly in the feature so the story will make sense to the reader. You can use dialogue and quotes to help achieve this.
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