4.7 Basics of feature writing
A. Getting started: The "nut graf"
Like news writing, feature stories should be newsworthy. The main differences between a "hard" news story and a feature story (note that news stories can be written as news features) is that news stories are to-the-point, less detailed or colourful, and hence usually far shorter than features. Features tend to have more depth and background information, and employ a larger variety of writing styles. News stories generally have to be written quickly, for publication today so as to be newsworthy, while feature stories can wait for days or even weeks.
The hardest part of writing a feature story is putting the first few words to paper. The critical task is first to figure out the most important message you wish to convey. This focuses your story idea to a particular angle. A single article cannot cover every angle. If you have many angles from which to choose, cover them in more than one article. This enlarges your market for publication. You may be a freelance or a staff journalist interested in writing for more than one section of your publication. By re-working the angle of the story, you can publish more than one article based on the same research. (See also the section in Lesson One about "Working with the research sentence" [ http://www.wfsj.org/course/en/L1/L1P09.html ])
One of the best ways to learn how to focus your story idea is by learning how to write a "nut graf." This is a term coined in U.S. newsrooms to describe a paragraph that is usually placed as the third or fourth paragraph of your article to summarise what your story is about. (For a fuller description, visit this link [ http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=34457 ])
Start writing your article by writing your 'nut graf'.
EXAMPLE:
The River Nile has been Egypt's 'vein of life' since time immemorial. Now facing a variety of threats ranging from Bilharziasis to the dumping of raw sewage, industrial, and agricultural effluents, the longest river in the world has slowly been turned into a death sentence for Egypt's millions.
A blend of public awareness and a strong commitment towards living a better life have, however, formed a successful recipe that pays homage to the waters that have been the country's symbol of prosperity and abundance since the times of the Pharaohs. (Source: [ http://www.islamonline.net/English/Science/2004/05/article09.shtml ])
By reading these two paragraphs – the article's nut graf – the reader can immediately grasp what the article is all about: the pollution of the River Nile, how it affects the health of Egyptians, and efforts underway to fix the problem. The writer has thus focused her story idea and has essentially limited herself to this particular angle for the rest of the story.
B. Leading into the nut graf
Once you have written the nut graf, you must consider how to lead into it with a good introduction that grabs the reader's attention. There are several types of introductions you can use:
- Summary: Sum up the who, what, when, where, why and how of the story, similar to a typical news lead.
- Anecdotes: Tell a short compelling story that people can relate to.
- Descriptive: provide a description of the person you are, or of something that happened in the event you are covering.
- Question: If your article is investigating an issue that will be completely answered by the end of the article, you can begin with a question.
- Pun or truism: Play with words or think of a pun or a truism that can be applied to the core of your topic.
- Quote: This type of lead should to be used with caution. If during your research you came across an important quote that can pull the reader into your story, use it. Otherwise, it's better to use a different kind of lead.
EXAMPLE:
Taking again the story about the River Nile
[ http://www.islamonline.net/English/Science/2004/05/article09.shtml ], look at its first two paragraphs and see how an anecdote is used:
As Egypt succumbs to summer and the temperatures slowly rise to a searing 40 degrees Celsius, four young boys skinny-dip in a canal while their fathers and older brothers labor in the nearby fields. With a carefree spirit that only boys their age can feel, they playfully splash each other with the refreshingly cool water.
Less than 100 meters upstream, however, a crime is being committed that will have a direct impact on these boys for the rest of their lives. A truck carrying raw sewage collected for a minor fee from the local villagers is dumping its contents directly into the irrigation canal.
EXAMPLE:
This article on IslamOnline.net starts with a series of questions that many Internet users probably answered with a definitive "yes"!
Keeping Cool May Cause Data Loss
[ http://www.islamonline.net/English/Science/2005/09/article04.shtml ]
While writing the body of your article remember to:
- Never lose sight of the main idea you summarized in your nut graf.
- Use multiple sources and from multiple categories. Do not, for example, quote scientists without also quoting officials or people affected by the science.
- Avoid implying positions of "black versus white" or "evil versus good" in your writing. As in news, there is more than one side to every story. Provide balance not through creating two extreme opposites but by portraying different sides to a story and giving each the appropriate weight. Always attribute your sources.
- Provide enough background that anybody can follow your topic.
- Provide colour in your writing. Be descriptive of your main characters and important scenes in your story.
Any good feature article needs a good ending. The reader should be able to find a logical connection between your ending and your nut graf.
Endings can be written as a straightforward message, as a question or proverb that summarizes the main message of the article, as an anecdote that brings the reader back to the human side of the story, or as a comment that leads into future prospects for your subject matter.
What's most important is that you don't want to leave your reader hanging, nor do you want to leave him feeling that it was a poor end to a good article. Aim at writing an ending that is thought provoking, or that leaves your reader with a sense of satisfaction.
E. Before you send your article to the editor:
- Read your story out loud to yourself. Does it read well?
- Although this is normally the job of the editor, try to divide your article with subtitles. This helps you to check to see if your ideas are logically structured into groups. If you find dividing the article into subtitles difficult, it might be because your ideas lack a logical progression.
- If you have time before your deadline, leave the article for a day or two and then go back and read it again. You might find glitches that you overlooked on writing that first draft.
- Show your article to a family member, friend, or colleague that you trust to provide constructive criticism. Are there concepts or terminologies that they find difficult to understand? Is the article boring? Does the article need "tightening" by removing superfluous information and words?
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