THE ART OF
FEATURE WRITING
MA. APRIL M. MIER
Professor, Print and Broadcast Media Department, Bicol U
Correspondent, Philippine Daily Inquirer
Feature
Story
✔ a write up that is
based on that
mysterious
ingredient in
journalism called
'human interest' -it appeals to us
because we can
relate to it.
■The jewel or gem
(precious stone) of the
newspaper - something
treasured for “time and
eternity”
✔news values is substituted
with human interest, mood,
atmosphere, emotion, irony
or humor.
✔ Ask “why” and “how”
✔ In-depth look on what’s going on
behind the news
✔ straight news appeals to the
physical, the feature story
“appeals in the soul.”
✔ Go behind the news
✔Picture out a
human face
FEATURE spells:
F – factual not fictitious
E – Entertaining
A – appealing to the emotions
T – timely or not timely
U – unusual
R – reader-oriented
E – explanation, extrapolation – extending or
projecting known info
Feature is not:
■Literary article
■Opinion article
■Storytelling
■Fiction Story
QUALITIES OF A
FEATURE WRITER
✔ inquisitive
✔ eager to learn
✔ sympathetic towards other people's
feelings
✔ capable of seeing beneath the surface of
ordinary events
TYPES OF FEATURE
STORIES
1. NEWS FEATURE - This is some
kind of a news event but the story goes
deeper than a news item as more
background information and related
details are presented and expounded on.
2. INFORMATIVE - This is an
article that is highly informative but
entertaining. Based on interview or
taken from research
3. SERVICE FEATURE or A
“HOW-TO” FEATURE- This deals
with instructive articles that help
readers cope with everyday living.
4. PERSONALITY SKETCHThis article features a person,
popular or not, rich or poor, but has
done something worth publishing or
is currently engaged in an interesting
or profitable endeavor.
5. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE - This emanates not only
from earthshaking experiences like riding an airplane that was
hijacked; being caught inside a movie house on fire, or being
one of the survivors of a volcano eruption or earthquake but
also even from ordinary experiences that happen
everyday. Experienced feature writers say even the most
common experience can be made into an interesting feature if
it is handled well. Unusual experience, written in the first
person
Travel stories. This maybe a combination or personal
experience and descriptive features.
6. HUMOROUS FEATUREstory with wit and humor
7. DEVELOPMENTAL
FEATURE. This features some
current or newly launched projects or
programs of the government that
need to be disseminated and that
would draw public support.
8. HUMAN INTEREST STORY appeals to emotion, has a little news
value or none at all but has a human
interest appeal with interesting style
ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS
Following the laws of
Progressive Reader Involvement:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Tease me.
Tell me what you are up to.
Prove it.
Help me remember it.
It begins with an
eye-catching
“showcase” lead.
INTRODUCTION
Get the reader's attention quickly
• Start with a well thought-out first paragraph
touching on some aspect of the person's life
that you are writing about or the event if it
is not a person.
• Have a beginning that draws in readers, a
transition that might repeat it in the middle
and an ending that refers to the beginning.
Responsibilities of Lead
• Must set the tone for what
follows
• Must get the article underway
• Must bridge the rest of the article
Distinctive Incident
Short sentence
Analogy Lead
Quotation Lead
Question Lead
Picture Lead
INTRODUCTION
RISING ACTION
Organize your story carefully.
• The billboard or so-what
graph
• It tells what the story is all
about
INTRODUCTIO
N
RISING
ACTION
CLIMA
X
■Try to draw a picture of
your subject or event
INTRODUCTIO
N
RISING
ACTION
CLIMA
X
FALLING
ACTION
■Even better, it makes for a
perfect way to wrap up the
article.
INTRODUCTIO
N
RISING
ACTION
CLIMA
X
FALLING
ACTION
CONCLUSION
■Must end with a “coda”
reminding the reader how
the article began.
■End stories in memorable
ways. Often it’s a good to use
a quote. This is called a
clincher.
The end can be...
A comment
Arguing a case/ drawing a conclusion
A concluding quote
A pointed question
A summary of the article
How to Get People Interested in Your Writing
■ Know your reader - Decide whom you’re
targeting. Picture the reader in your mind, not
just as a broad category but as a real, living,
breathing person
■ Know your end goal - When the person
has read your article, what do you want
him to feel?
■ Explain why the reader should care - This is the
classic “benefits over features” marketing rule.
Why should the reader bother with your article?
■ Anticipate questions - Imagine you’re having a
face-to-face conversation with your reader, where
you’re sharing your information. What additional
questions might come up?
■ Write tightly - include only what is necessary to tell the
story.
■ Enliven your feature with relevant anecdotes
or episodes.
■ Quotations or dialogues lend credibility and
set mood or atmosphere in the story.
■ Make your ideas concrete by using imagery or
figures of speech that the readers will
understand.
■ Avoid highbrow language otherwise you will
not be communicating effectively.
■ Keep your paragraph short and snappy.
Substance of Feature:
⮚ Facts
⮚ Quotes
⮚ Description
⮚ Anecdotes
⮚ Analysis
⮚ Pay off/ Conclusion - reward for reader
persevering until the end
TOUCH THE SOUL
OF THE READER
■ Our Dying Culture