Feature Writing: Ideas and Tips

Getting Started

• Anyone can write features that require creativity, tenacity, and the ability to see stories
• Experience in teaching feature writing at Ohio State since 2004 has been helpful
• Feature writing success begins with thinking and seeing the world as a writer

Tip 1: Thinking Like A Reader

• Articles should be written for readers, not other writers, editors, publishers, or professors
• Determine if an idea is compelling and addresses questions readers would have

Tip 2: Being A Good Reader

• It's important to see writing that is good, bad and mediocre to recognize those traits in your own writing
• Good writing is developed, not inherent

Tip 3: Finding Story Ideas Everywhere

• Train your mind to look for story ideas in various experiences

Feature Value Importance

• The key to finding features is understanding what gives an idea "feature value"
• A story needs "legs" or "teeth," according to Mitch Hooper, meaning it is functional and has an interesting angle

Story Elements

• Tom Reed said that finding the right story is 70% of it, and the other 30% is telling it

Reading To Be Read

• Every writer must read, being immersed in language and storytelling techniques

Reading Helps Identify

• What makes writing worth reading
• What appeals to you
• In which pieces you lose yourself
• In which pieces are you compelled to turn the page and just look at the headlines and pictures
• Where in a story do you start jumping over paragraphs
• What sentences help you glide through the story

Transitioning From Reader To Writer

• Beginning feature writers should think of topics and not stories

Finding Ideas

• Everyone has a story to tell

Story Ideas

• Stories are on every corner/in virtually every person

Where To Look For Story Ideas

• Listen to what people are talking about by keeping your ears open
• Consider your own interests and experiences as a source of story ideas
• Look at what is happening in the news or in research
• Be attentive when asking new people what they do such as Mike Wagner
• The personal life, job experience and reading are potential sources for story ideas according to Wagner

Story Examples

• A new children's store opens where you live and, while shopping, you learn a percentage of the proceeds go to support pediatric cancer
• You notice an influx of electric cars in your neighborhood, and you start looking at the prevalence of such cars and how owners may feel about them
• You start wondering about family vacation spots within a certain geographic distance
• You read an article about nationwide statistics on the increase in home-schooling and wonder how many people do it in your area and what challenges they may face
• Your dog dies

Captivating and Newsworthy

• There has to be some kind of captivating, newsy element

Story Focus

• There is a big difference between a vague topic and an actual, potential story

Pitching An Idea

• A proposal should be short and summarize what you want to write about, who you want to write about, and what impact the story may have

Pitch Elements

• Who is the audience for which you wish to write
• What publication serves that audience
• What exactly do you want that reader to know

Angle Importance

• Find an angle and connect your self to the subject according to the Ohio State Alumni Publication
• Sometimes a subject has been covered by many writers, but understanding it may make it publishable

Sources

• Ability to access sources is a requirement to complete a story
• The source must be willing to speak and has the information

Right Author Status

• To write on topics requires significant understanding and respect in the field

Examples

• Your neighbor turns her front yard into a vegetable patch
• Your dog is allergic to chicken
• You read a newspaper story about a guy who had cancer and wrote a children's book about it
• Alison Lukan uses her professional colleagues to determine whether a story idea has potential, and advocates students doing the same

Publication Or Article Choices

• Pitch the right idea to the right publication
• Develop expertise in the story idea before you ever report or write a word
• Use the 'elevator pitch' to explain your story in 20 seconds

Reader Info

• Know what your audience is interested in
• Ensure enough hook and interest
• Identify that before you start diving in
• See if your readers are going to find it interesting
• So-What Factor means writers have to anticipate that question and show the reader from the very first sentence why they should keep reading

Finding Your Focus

• Present facts and information with a human spin

Journalism Student Traits

• There are a place and time for every type of article, and versatility will help you be even more marketable

Feature Information

• Feature writing is relating facts and information with a more narrative style, using fiction-writing techniques
• Readers of these types of works want to be smarter than when they started reading; they want to be taught, entertained, captivated and involved

Newsworthiness

• No longer wedded to reporting on what is happening now
• A feature can be valid simply because it's something readers have yet to learn about

Abby Vesoulis Advice

• Try to identify the staying power of a story

Various Story Structures Of Features

• Personality profiles
• Human interest
• Interviews
• Trend
• Expose
• Personal experience
• How-tos
• Travel
• Seasonal

Reader's Focus

• Need to figure out how can I tell that story that hasn't been told already
• Readers think "What's in this for me?”

Story Elements

• Idea: What is this story about and how will it serve the reader
• Information gathering: What do I want the reader to know, and who can help me tell them
• Organizing: In what order do the readers need to know the story so they are entertained, informed and compelled to keep reading
• Writing: Which part of all this material that has been gathered will the reader want and need to know

Types Of Features

• Feature encompasses a broad range of article types from profiles to how-tos and beyond

Shaping The Material

• The goal is not to know the types that exist but rather to use them to shape your material into a format that best serves your reader and the publication

Pitching A Story

• Helps editors see the focus and appeal
• Take a look at some of the most common feature article types

Profiles Info

• A profile is a mini-biography on a single entity revolving around a nut graph that includes something newsworthy happening now
• Must document struggles and dreams and warts

Profile Aim

• Reveal feelings
• Expose attitudes
• Capture habits and mannerisms
• Entertain and inform

Interview Subject

• Observe closely the person/subject's habits, vocal tones, dress, interactions and word choice
• It should be from an immersing style of writing by getting clear perspectives

Profile Content

• Anecdotal lede
• Nut graph/Theme
• Scene I
• Chronology
• Where Are We Now
• What Lies Ahead
• Closing Quote

Q&A Style

• Article structured in questions and answers, and are easy to write and read
• Good for many subjects
• Writers must take great care when writing
• You should not use closed-ended questions
• Articles start with an introduction and then go into the interview
• An objective tone should be applied to subject's language

Round Up Articles

• Should be arranged into a list of ideas from various sources that advances a common idea
• The article begins with an anecdote

How-To Articles

• Provides a description of how something can be accomplished using information and advice
• Should be written sequentially and have to end with some sort of success

Personal Experience Topics

• Wish to share
• Learn or benefit from
• Wish to avoid
• Help cope with a challenge

True-Life Drama

• Stories that are almost impossible to believe but are true, and they are driven by the characters who make them come to life

Seasonal Stories

• Happen every year and need a fresh angle on an annual basis

Travel Angle

• The angle should be all about the audience

Travel Writing Means Stories About

• How to travel
• When to travel
• Advice on traveling

Travel Writers

• Look for stories to pitch to have a unique perspective

Other Types

• Essay or Opinion
• Historical Article
• Trend Story
• Evergreen