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What is feature writing?
Feature writing is a more creative type of news writing
Allows the author to write about a news story in a more creative and compelling way
Goes further in-depth and is usually longer than hard news articles
Many times feature stories will cover a news topic from a different angle
While news articles are more timely, feature stories are usually less timeliness-driven and more topic and creativity-driven
Preparations Before Writing
Step 1: Choose an interesting topic. It could be newsworthy, but make sure it is interesting to you, as the writer!
Step 2: Do your research! Good news pieces use facts, but great features use facts and evidence, with lots of helpful descriptions.
Step 3: If needed, contact your sources and schedule an interview with them! Finish research and MAKE SURE TO LINK the websites you used for research!
Step 4: Choose important quotes from the interview
Step 5: Get to work with your first draft!
Graphic Driven Feature- Graphic Journalism
Involves visual storytelling
merging comic art with journalistic processes
Combine words and images together
could explain tough topics vividly
Tell a timely nonfiction story.
The artwork enhances the story but the images or co-existent.
Example:
Explanatory
An explanatory feature is one where a news topic is defined in depth, and written in a more creative (feature like example)
Explanatory feature writing takes a piece of news, and might explore it from a different angle
For example, if a news article talked about the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, a feature on that topic might be about the number of large events such as concerts and clubs reopening as a possible reason for the uptick in cases
Examples:
Profiles
Profile writing is a type of feature writing that discusses a single person
This type of writing tries to paint a picture of who someone is, their history, and why they are being written about
In terms of the Talon, profiles are usually written about new faculty members such as teachers, administrators, and more
To write a profile, one should follow a few basic steps
Do some research on that person ahead of time to have some solid questions ready
Ask open ended questions and let them tell their story
Try and tell the story from an interesting and compelling angle so you can share their story
Example:
Photo Stories
Photo stories are a type of photojournalism that falls under the features column
They are a series/gallery of photos on a certain topic
Photo stories are accompanied by a brief piece of writing (usually >300 words) describing the topic of the photo story in a little more detail
The photos for photo stories are not staged/posed, but rather action photos taken during the regular course of activities
Each photo is accompanied by a 1-3 sentence caption that describes the photo or discusses the photo’s relationship to the topic of the photo story
Example:
The Process of Writing and Publishing a Feature
Step 1: After your first draft, make sure to communicate with your editors! Making sure you are on the same page as them is extremely important in the writing process. Productivity is key!
Step 2: Be prepared to make edits. When writing a professional feature article, there will be many edits made to make sure it is the best possible article that can be put out. This part shouldn’t be discouraging. It should motivate you to become a better writer for your readers, and should be an example of how you can improve when writing future articles. Once you have finished this step, get it to your editor as soon as possible.
Step 3: Perform an Author Accuracy Check! It is important to double check with your sources and make sure all your quotes are accurate to ensure you are not giving them a false public image, and so they will be willing to work with you in the future if you end up needing there help in the future. This also gives the publication you are working for a good reputation because it shows people that you are trying to interpret the quotes from your sources as accurately as possible.
Advice on topics
-Feature topics is very flexible due to the fact that it covers news in greater depth.
- Find stories and research topics that have way more detail and depth rather than news itself
-Choose a topic your really interested in and can find a good angle on
-examples: celebrities, protests/movements, teachers and students at your school, heroes in our world, updates on politics or issues going on, ect.
-Have fun with choosing topics and be creative!
Advice for Excellence - Examples Outside of Talon
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