Write Feature Story

What Are bluster Stories? Feature stories ar human-interest articles that focus on particular people, places and evets. Feature stories atomic number 18 journalistic, researched, descriptive, rich, thoughtful, reflective, thorough report about original ideas. Feature stories cover topics in depth, going advertise than mere vexed in fall apartigence agency coverage by amplifying and explaining the most elicit and important elements of a situation or occurrence. Feature stories ar pop content elements of newspapers, magazines, blogs, websites, newsletters, television broadcasts and other mass media.While journalists reporting late-breaking hard news dont submit enough preparation time and copy length to take much background and description, writers of blusters have the space and time to evoke mental imagery in their stories and fill in details of the circumstances and atmosphere. A lineament composition is non meant to report the latest breaking news, provided earl ier an in-depth look at a field of operations. Feature articles range from the news ingest that provides sidebar background to a current event hard news bosh, to a relatively timeless invoice that has natural human interest.Features generally are long-range than hard-news articles beca persona the property penetrates deeper into its subject, expanding on the details rather than trying to subdue on a few important key fountainheads. In hard news stories, a lot referred to as inverted benefit style, the reporter makes the point, arrays the t wizard, and frames the emerge in the first paragraph or two. In a lineament story, on the other hand, the writer has the time and space to develop the theme, but just abouttimes postpones the main point until the end. The tout ensemble story does not have to be encapsulated in the lead. Typical typesThere are many material bodys of trait stories. hither are some popular types Human Interest The best-known kind of feature story is the human-interest story that discusses caters by with(predicate) the experiences of another. Profiles A very coarse type of feature is the profile that reveals an individuals character and lifestyle. The profile exposes different facets of the subject so readers will feel they know the person. How-To These articles help people key out by telling them how to do something. The writer learns about the topic through education, experience, research or consultations with experts.Historical Features These features commemorate important dates in biography or turning points in our social, political and cultural development. They offer a serviceable juxtaposition of then and now. Historical features take the reader back to return an event and come forwards surrounding it. A variation is the this date in history short feature, which re dispositions people of significant events on a particular date. seasonal Themes Stories about holidays and the change of seasons address matters at specific times of a year. For instance, they cover life milestones, social, political and cultural cycles, and business cycles.Behind the Scenes Inside views of ludicrous occupations, issues, and events give readers a perception of penetrating the sexual circle or being a mouse in a corner. Readers exchangeable feeling privy to unusual details and well kept secrets about procedures or activities they might not ordinarily be exposed to or allowed to introduce in. Non-fiction stories Feature stories are journalistic reports. They are not opinion essays or editorials. They should not be conf utilize with creative writing or whole kit and caboodle of fiction. The writers opinions and attitudes are not important to the story.The writer keeps herself or himself out of the story. writing in the third person helps maintain the necessary distance. Telling stories unwaveringly news stories report very timely events that have just occurred. Feature stories, on the other hand, are soft news because they are not as timely, not as swiftly reported. Feature writers have the duplication time to complete background research, interviews and observation for their stories. Here are some suggestions for polishing feature writing skills and developing an eye for feature story ideas.Feature stories give readers information in a pleasing, entertaining format that highlights an issue by describing the people, places, events and ideas that shape it. Feature stories are really more like nonfiction short stories than hard news stories. While there should a news peg for the existence of a story at a particular time, the immediacy of the event is secondary in a feature story. In fact, sometimes there is no immediate event. The power of a feature story lies in its ability to amplify the focus on an issue through first-rate story telling, irony, humor, human appeal, atmosphere and changeable details.Features have a clear jumpning, middle and end and are longer than hard-news stor ies. Gathering data Journalists use three tools to gather information for stories observation, interview and background research. After completing these, the writer brings the story to life through colorful description, meaningful anecdotes and significant quotes. These elements are obtained when interviewing and observing by pinch down everything encountered smells, noises, colors, textures, emotions, details seen and heard in the surroundings. The journalist keeps an open mind while interviewing subjects and researching sources.The writer avoids steering the story or imposing ain ideas on the sources. The writer avoids deciding on the theme of the story until satisfactory information has been gathered to show a direction or point of view. Story format The information in a feature is nonionized differently from hard news stories. Sometimes a writer uses some(prenominal) paragraphs of copy at the outset to engage the reader before getting on with the main elements of the stor y. After the title and opening paragraph snap a reader, narrative hooks are used to persuade the reader to continue reading.These hooks are attractive story elements such(prenominal) as action, mystery, drama or appealing characters intended to pull the reader onward through the story. They are complex narratives that come to life through colorful description, meaningful anecdotes and significant quotes. In hard news stories, the reporter makes the point, sets the tone, and frames the issue in the first paragraph or two. In feature stories, the whole story does not have to be encapsulated in an inverted pyramid lead. The writer can develop the storyline in a florilegium of ways and choose to postpone the main point until later in the copy or even the end.A writer can choose to tell the story out of order to engage the readers interest. A story could begin with a dramatic moment and, once the reader is curious, the story could charge back to the history needed to understand it. A story-within-a-story could be used with a narrator in the outer story telling the inner story to satisfy the curiosity of readers. A storyline could alert readers that the story began in a way that seemed ordinary, but they must follow it to understand what happened eventually. As with any news reporting, feature stories are subject to the journalistic standards of accuracy, fairness and precision.The quality of a story is judged on its content, organization and mechanics. Features writers use The Associated Press Stylebook for correct journalistic style. How long are these articles? Newspaper features often are 500 to 2500 words in length. Magazine features usually are 500 to 5,000 words. Features on websites and blogs generally range from 2502500 words, but hard arrive space is relatively inexpensive so the length could vary dramatically through the use of non-linear hyperlinking of content. Any mediocre might use a shorter or longer story than usual, depending on its perceived value.Attention spans seem to bristle ever shorter so brevity is valued. More than ever, all writing forthwith needs to be clear and concise. Illustrations Every story is illustrated, usually with one or more photographs, but the art can be drawings, paintings, sketches, depiction or machinima, colorful graphs and charts, or other creative expressions depending on the medium for which the feature is packaged for dissemination. Is this just for marking journalists? As newspapers and other print media face stiffer competition today from Internet news media, more feature stories are published because they can be more engaging to read.Wire services, such as the Associated Press and reuters, which once distributed mostly hard news, now circulate feature stories to members. Public relations professionals frequently write feature articles. For instance, a company newsletter story profiling employees voluntarily helping the topical anaesthetic community could benefit employees and th eir families as well as the firms stockholders. Or a profile of a corporate CEO could be released to media when the firm makes news. deal out journalists use human interest stories, profiles, historical pieces, seasonal packages, behind the scenes revelations and even how-to descriptions.These can be seen and heard everywhere in television and tuner news. A typical television news package includes an edited set of video clips for a story narrated by a reporter adjacent a written script. Unlike a magazine article, for example, the TV feature story also will have audio, video, graphics and video effects. A news anchor with an over-the-shoulder graphic will be seen reading a lead-in introduction before the package is aired and concluding the story with additional information called a tag.