8 Writing features for print

News is the story. The feature is the story behind the story.

In a feature you let your imagination flow around the facts. There are two kinds: news features and timeless features. The news feature is usually written to a tight deadline associated with the news story, and will probably be a sidebar to the news story. It can appear as a ‘follow up’ to the news story, perhaps the next day. The timeless story does not have to be used immediately and can sometimes take several months, but it still needs a ‘peg’ for it to be written or published.

Sources for features include records, contacts, interviews and newspapers.

STRUCTURE OF A FEATURE

Every feature has:

• a focus (what it’s about)

• a lead

• the body of the story

• an ending.

First organize your thoughts, which will give you the focus for your story. Do this before you do your detailed research, otherwise you won’t know what you’re looking for. Then decide:

• what is the story

• what is the lead

• what facts will go into the body of the story

• what is the ending.

Writing features for print CHAPTER 8

The focus

The focus must be specific, not general (e.g. ‘Jenny the ship cleaner’ … not ‘A story about the Navy’). The focus must make readers comfortable with the subject of the story, making it easy for them to see the word picture you are painting. Having decided on the focus and the story, and having got all your facts organized in some kind or order, you then think about writing.

The lead

You always look for a new angle on an old story, a new twist, a different way of saying something. Unlike a news story, where the lead usually writes itself, the lead for a feature story is something that has to be searched for. It’s got to be different. Unlike a news story, where the lead will certainly be one sentence, the feature lead may require several sentences. After all, you can afford to take longer because the story will be longer. It often needs ‘setting up’. For example:

1 Jenny never set the world on fire. But for more than half a century she was one of the best known people in Hong Kong.

2 Up on the thirty-third floor of City One there’s one of the most active men in Shatin. He’s 98 – or at least he thinks he’s 98 — but he beats people half his age at being active. But there’s one more thing about Joe – he’s blind…

The lead has intrigued the readers, providing them with an air of mystery, which will make them read on. For example:

There’s nothing on the surface that makes 22 Sui Wo Road any different from thousands of other highrise blocks of flats. Like many other places in Hong Kong, it’s on a hill, and it has all the usual means of getting to and from the places you want to get to and from … But 22 Sui Wo Road has a nickname … it’s called… and so the story goes on.

So leads can be a summary; they can be intriguing; they can be descriptive. The descriptive lead gives the reader a clear, simple picture of a scene from which the story will then flow:

Imagine a Summer day with the temperature in the forties. The lawns are turning yellow; and most of all … what you really want is a drink of water … But that’s the problem: there isn’t any water.

There is also the direct approach lead. This is the easiest for beginners, so you have to beware of overdoing it. This is the gimmick where you address the reader directly:

Is your garage like an overstocked warehouse?

Finally, there is the quotation lead. It can be an excellent way to lead off a feature story, but you have to be careful because the quote can’t just be an ordinary quote. It has to be grabbing, and it has to have some twist in it. For example:

‘If you want to get sick, go to a doctor Sounds OK, except that the woman who said that was 92 last week.

The ending

There are two types of endings: summary and twist.

Whichever you use, don’t fall into the trap of editorializing. Editorials are for the editorial page, not for a feature. Reporters report what they have seen or heard, not what they think they have seen or heard or felt. There’s a big difference. For example:

So Joe doesn’t expect to do great things with his life… he just drifts along, thinking maybe that one day he’ll go back to counting flowers again.

The body

Having got all the facts and written your lead (and possibly even thought of an ending), write the body of the story. That means tying it closely together. You write the story as a whole, not in parts. There has to be a smooth transition from the lead to the body of the story, and from the various facts within the body of the story to the ending. In the body of the piece you have to keep the reader interested. It’s like going up and down mountains; you reach a peak (major point of interest) then go down into a valley (explanation of the major point you’ve made), then up another peak etc. The way to keep a story lively is therefore to have a series of major points with some kind of explanation, then a transition to another fact, and so on. Interwoven throughout, of course, must be quotes from people you’ve spoken to about the story. Quotes give colour to the story and help the reader ‘see’ more clearly.

Feature writing must be tight and well edited, with just the right number of words. This is the major difference between academic writing, essay writing and journalism. Needless words are out. For example, rather than ‘have you ever met a person who is very important in the world? If you have, what did you experience?’, why not use ‘Have you ever met a VIP? What was it like?’

Show people doing things. Let them talk. Underwrite, rather than write too much. This way you keep the piece moving, and the reader interested. To keep the story moving quickly, keep the quotes vivid so the characters are real. Don’t over-report. One good quote per point is enough. Give an accurate, complete and balanced account, and don’t put in too much background. A year-to-year, day-to-day account muddies the point and is boring. Remember: something specific is better than something abstract. If you ask someone about drugs and kids, get specific examples such as: ‘John, the boy who delivers the papers … he’s on drugs and needs help’.

Instead of writing about the lack of eating places, make it interesting by talking about the number of dim sum restaurants. Break up a big idea into small ones; break up paragraphs. This is a way of giving advice or suggestions in small doses. Lists are a problem because they look long and dull. You can also sometimes use overlapping paragraphs; it’s a great hook to keep interest. Use the same words or ideas at the end of one paragraph and at the beginning of the next. For example

There was nothing to do but wait.

And wait he did. All through the afternoon.

When writing the feature:

  1 Keep sentences short, but vary the shortness. A series of short five-word sentences can be boring. Vary the length.

  2 Prefer simple ideas/words/constructions to complex ones. Break complex ideas into simple ones.

  3 Use basic sentence constructions.

• Simple: has one subject and one statement (eight robbers held up a train yesterday)

• Compound: has two simple sentences joined by a conjunction (eight robbers held up a train yesterday and stole all the money)

• Complex: has one principle statement and one or more modifying statements or clauses (eight robbers, who were seen by a railway worker, are still being sought by police after trying to rob a train yesterday and steal all the money).

  4 Be active in the use of verbs.

  5 Be positive. Readers don’t want to be told what isn’t; tell them what is. Try to express a negative in a positive form.

  6 Prefer familiar words.

  7 Avoid unnecessary words.

  8 Write informally.

  9 Write as you would talk to a friend.

10 Use words the reader can picture.

Use one thought per sentence; one sentence per paragraph. Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret of style. Also remember: edit your own material, once, twice, maybe even three times. Feature writing is a longer, more complex and more conversational type of writing than news. It tells about people, personalizes issues and explains dramatic trends in human, people terms. It takes news and expands, analyses, personalizes. The structure is less formal than the news inverted pyramid or news formula stories. This doesn’t mean it’s easier to write. You have to:

• find a focus

• develop an interesting lead

• get enough sub-stories and quotes and background to make it a good story development

• find the ‘right conclusion’ that somehow makes readers satisfied that they have kept reading.

The feature lead doesn’t give the news; it gets the reader interested in reading the rest of the story. The feature ending is not like the ending of other news stories. It is a ‘reward’ to the reader for having read the whole story. It generally has a ‘bang’ of its own. It hits us between the eyes; makes us think; surprises; makes us want to know more.

Above all, a feature is a story, an example of a person or incident that needs to be retold so people can understand what is happening to other people. Features are longer, looser and less structured than news stories, which have to give the facts quickly, simply and succinctly. We should be looking for the ‘people stories’; the ones readers can relate to, the ones that tell the story behind the story even when doing a news feature. They should also somehow illustrate a point of concern to society and people. They often have a news ‘peg’. You cannot simply list the facts you have found out in an interview; you have to put them together selectively as a story. The first draft you do will help you think the story idea through and it can be complicated. The feature can look more deeply at news and help the reader understand the background to a story or an event; it provides detail, word pictures and insights not available in the inverted pyramid news story. However, even in features we do not provide our own opinion: writers and reporters report the facts; readers provide the opinion.

In writing a feature you have, somewhere near the top, to tell the reader why you are writing the story. You have to show the reader why this person or issue is worth talking about. You have to explain the reason for your story. Examples of types of features are:

• backgrounder

• personality

• anniversary

• seasonal

• news analysis or explanation.

Suspended-interest

This is one particular way of writing features and is best used to tell short, humorous stories. These are difficult because you have to save the best until last and keep interest throughout right up to the last paragraph. It’s like telling a joke; give away too much too soon, and you’ve given away the punch line. For example:

Joe Bloggs wants a dog that bites.

Bloggs was taking his labrador for a ride in his car when he was stopped by a young innocent-looking boy.

‘Does your dog bite?’ asked the boy.

‘No,’ said Bloggs.

‘Great’, said the youth, pulled out a gun, ordered Bloggs and the dog out and drove away.

In these features you have to write a lead, develop the story, bring the story to near climax and then reveal the outcome.

STORY DEVELOPMENT

The story can be developed in several ways. It may be chronological – logical from beginning to end with some blocks of explanatory matter thrown in. If, for example, the feature is about a new law, after the ‘happening’ feature lead you might like to explain how a bill is made into law, the process in the steps etc. If a story has two sides – an explanation of some controversial policy – you could list four or five points and present both sides of each topic. Presenting both sides of a number of points can be done either by presenting one side of the topic and then the opposing view alternately, or by reporting several points on one side of the argument, then all the opposing views.

Always be logical. Finish one stream of thought and logic before starting on the next one, otherwise the reader will be confused. Features can then be arranged in ‘blocks’. Each block may have a different structure: one might be a summary in the writer’s words (using research, quotes etc.); another might be direct and indirect quotes (mixed) introduced by a summary paragraph; another might tell a story; another might be an itemized list. Good features combine general propositions written as explanation or factual background in your own words with specific examples or quotes. For example, if you are doing a story about employee theft from a factory, you might give examples of what’s been stolen; then follow with comments from employees, their bosses and unions.

Every feature must be based on factual background and good research, which should be written entertainingly and interestingly in your own words and combined with relevant quotes (direct and indirect). Remember, you aren’t writing a news story, where you have to give the news point straightaway. Features are different. In the lead, give the reader enough of the story to stimulate interest and curiosity but don’t completely satisfy it. You set the stage and hint at the type of story that you are telling, but hold back enough of the details to make the reader read on.

Use vivid language. Good storytelling – good features, in other words – needs good illustrations; ways of painting word pictures for the reader. These include description, examples, anecdotes, dialogue and quotes as well as figures of speech – metaphors, similes, allusions, and so on.

In developing a story, allusions can be very useful for maintaining interest. Sometimes a literary, historical or topical allusion serves as a good starting point for a feature. Sometimes an allusion can provide a theme in the development, a link between sections. However, the allusions and references must be instantly recognized by the reader; they are a kind of shortcut to understanding between writer and reader. Allusions to the words of a song, for example, can be very good – assuming your readers know the song. Allusions must either be very topical or current, or they must refer to something that is part of our common language or culture.

Perhaps the story development is not chronological but starts with the climax, followed by background and explanation. This requires an imaginative and creative lead. Some examples:

1 Anyone can forget where they parked their car for a day. Or maybe even for a week. But for one year, six months and 22 days?

2 Justice is supposed to be swift. But a high court jury was so swift yesterday that it delivered a ‘not guilty’ verdict before hearing defence testimony.

3 One of the last great nonspenders, Alfred J. Tennyson of Tai Po, is about to retire after almost 20 stingy years in the Hong Kong budget office.

4 Noisy cars entering the tunnel … 9280 Quiet cars entering the tunnel … 6.

5 All the camel was doing was standing quietly on the road in the middle of nowhere minding its own business when it was hit by a motorcycle.

Features hang together better if they have a neat close and a well thought out conclusion. Often the conclusion will swing back to reinforce the beginning of the story in some way. This is a circular development of the story. Lead and conclusion bind the story together and emphasize the feature angle, the human interest, the vivid picture. Conclusions are one way of achieving a very important part of feature writing: involving the reader and getting reader reaction. For example, the final paragraph may say: ‘Oh boy, so would I’; and the reader says to himself: ‘so would I…’

SOME TIPS FOR WRITING FEATURES

  1 Know how to research/collect news first. Once you can report and write short news stories confidently and accurately you will be able to write a feature. Not before. Learn how to dig for facts, how to interview and how to collect and write a news story to a very tight deadline, then you will be able to write a feature. Remember, however, that a feature is different from news: it has a different type of intro lead; different approach to quotes; different approach to background and context and a different type of ending.

  2 Do your homework. Before you start collecting information for the feature, know something about the people you will be interviewing or who might help you. Know the direction that the interview and the story will probably (or should) take.

  3 Observe and describe the house or the office, what the people are wearing, how they talk, whether they gesture. Are they wearing jewellery? Do they take a lot of time to answer a question? What are their clothes like?

  4 Use a tape recorder whenever possible (the small cassette variety that can be put on the table in front of the two of you). Taping is good because it provides a precise record of what is said. It allows you to give full attention to what is being said, rather than missing some by having to take physical notes. It also reveals how a person answers the question. For example, it might help to write that a person paused or took a deep breath before answering. Also, of course, if later you are accused of misquoting, you have the taped record as proof.

  5 Ask questions. Ask as many as possible of as many people as possible. Sometimes you will have to say ‘can you explain this to me, I don’t understand’. Good. Neither will the reader. Sometimes what you ask won’t help. Never mind; it’s better to ask than not to ask.

  6 Maintain contact with the source. Additional questions may come up while the story is being written. At the end of the interview ask the source where they can be reached, and alert them to the fact that you may contact them again to check a fact or ask some additional questions. However, never give away your editorial control.

  7 Transcribe handwritten notes as soon as possible. This helps to organize thoughts and prepare an outline of the story so far. The longer a reporter waits to transcribe notes, the more difficult it becomes.

  8 Write a rough outline first, then write a rough draft. Revise it, write another draft, revise it, and so on until you are satisfied. Writing is a process of refinement. When you start out feature writing, the more drafts, the better the end product will be. It will never be perfect the first time. Show it to someone else for their comments.

  9 Look for the best lead. When you write the draft, although you may think you know the lead, you might find that actually the best and most interesting intro is somewhere in the middle of the story.

10 Look for the best ending. Again, when you reread and revise your story, the best ending might not be at the end. You may find that the best and most dramatic, interesting or memorable ending is somewhere in the middle of the story. Change it to the end.

11 Do not overwrite. A feature should be as long as it is worth. Don’t write too much, or more than you have the material for. Stop writing when you run out of things to say, or when you think the reader will lose interest. That’s more important than filling a required space.

12 See it afresh. If you have time after you finish the story, try to leave some time before you read it again before finally sending it to the editor.

FURTHER READING

Bagnall, N. (1993). Newspaper Language. Focal Press.

Davis, A. (1998). Magazine Journalism Today. Focal Press.

Giles, V. and Hodgson, F. W. (1996). Creative Newspaper Design. Focal Press.

Hennessy, B. (1997). Writing Feature Articles. Focal Press.

Hodgson, F. W. (1998). New Subediting. Focal Press.

Keeble, R. (1998). The Newspaper Handbook. Routledge.