FEATURE

WRITING

Make the reader

SEE.
Make the reader
CARE.

What is Feature
Writing?

 Feature writing offer insights about

the people, places, things or events
that surrounds each day but to which
we may pay little or no attention.
It allows the reporter to look beyond
the obvious, to linger for a moment,
to linger for a moment, to explore an
interesting or intriguing idea that may
not necessarily relate to a breaking
story.

Types of Feature
Story

News Features
They are stories that are news
worthy but are not as immediate
and do not require the conciseness
and precision expected in a breaking
news story.

Sidebars
These are stories that cover in detail
one aspect of a larger breaking
story.

Special Events Features

Special Events Features are similar
to sidebars, but the main story
concerns a one-time situation only.

News backgrounders
This type of feature traces the
development of a significant current
news story.

Historical Features
This
attempt
to
show
the
significance and importance of past
events.

Human Interest Stories

These are stories that offer the odd,
unusual, humorous, and offbeat
incidents and personalities that help
keep life in perspective.

Personality Sketches or
Profiles
The writer tries to determine what
motivates, excites, or discourages
one individual to provide a better
sense of whom and what this person
is.

Descriptive features
Focuses on places to visit and see
and events to participate.

Seasonal features
Spotlights specific annual events or
observances.

Where do ideas for feature

stories come from?

The best source of idea is

YOU!
- Your sensitivity to the world
around you is the best source.

How do we heighten our

sensitivity?

TIPS
1. Never stop looking for good feature
stories.
2. Cultivate an interest in a variety of
subjects.
3. Look beyond the obvious.
4. Listen carefully.
5. Watch carefully.
6. Observe with a purpose.

How to Write a Feature Story

1. 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.
.Good feature stories have a beginning that draws
in readers, a transition that might repeat it in the
middle and an ending that refers to the beginning.

2. Organize your story carefully.

Feature stories can be told in narrative fashion or
by sliding from event to event even though not in
chronological order.
Use careful transitions to maintain the flow of the
story if you're not going to follow chronological
order.

3. Use short paragraphs and vary the lengths of

sentences for effect.
Reading sentences and paragraphs that are always
the same length gets boring.

4. Write with strong verbs and nouns, but go

easy on adjectives.
The man was tall.

The man's head almost

brushed
against
the
eight foot ceiling in the
room.

The ship sank in 1900.

The ship sank just as

the first intercontinental
railroad was nearing
completion.

5. Don't be afraid to use offbeat quotes.

Not profanity, but rather witty things the person
may say in response to a question about their
success, life or family.

6. Write tightly.
You do not need to tell the reader everything you
know on a subject or event. Tell only the most
important things.
It's better to write shorter than longer. A good
feature can be done in 500-750 words.

Samples