BASIC FACTS ON WRITING A FEATURE ARTICLE...(FOR BEGINNERS)

[Fiel Angeli AraoaraoGabin]

FEATURE WRITING
City Schools Division Press Conference
Resource Speaker:   Fiel Angeli E. Araoarao â€" Gabin
City Information Officer



WHAT IS A FEATURE ARTICLE?

Ø a creative, sometimes subjective article designed primarily to entertain and to inform readers of an event, a situation, or an aspect of life
Ø often not perishable
Ø has no established limits of length
Ø allows for descriptive and stylish techniques
Ø gives the writer the opportunity to express himself
Ø uses emotions, imagination, ability to describe people and events, words, ideas and impressions



FEATURE VERSUS OTHER LITERARY FORMS

Feature                     Short Story
> factual                     > fictional
> informs
> entertains                  

Editorial/Columns
> often judges                     > persuades
> illuminates                     > advocates



ELEMENTS OF FEATURE ARTICLES

Ø Creativity â€" allows a reporter to create/ conjure a story virtually at will
Ø Subjectivity â€" when a writer injects his own thoughts and emotions
Ø Informativeness â€" a constructive information of an aspect of life or situation that may escape coverage in hard news stories
Ø Entertainment â€" “color story” aimed at capturing the mood of an event
Ø Unperishability â€" value will not diminish with time; suffers rarely from deadline pressure



ACCURACY: THE MARK OF PROFESSIONALISM

Getting the correct information:
Ø When you interview someone, ask his name, address, and telephone number.
Ø Never assume you know something.
Ø If your subject is unfamiliar to you, or someone on which you have no background, check with one or several experts before you write the first word.
Ø When using statistical data, the reporter should double-check the figures.



SPELLING AND CORRECT USAGE

Correct Spelling: Not just an academic exercise designed to bedevil students, but a must for survival in this competitive world of journalism.

Correct Usage of Words: The writer must have a feel for words so he can use the appropriate word to convey his intended meaning.



GENERATING FEATURE IDEAS

Before one starts looking for ideas for a feature article, one should consider the audience or target readers of a particular publication.

Sources of ideas:
Ø Ideas from the school campus - myriads of activities
Ø Ideas from the business or trade journals - advertisements or information about firms or establishments engaged in trailblazing, innovative or creative business ventures
Ø Ideas from reading - writer must see more than the facts; he must see their implications. He must read and analyze magazines to get the feel of what editors want
Ø Ideas from observation - an truly observant writer looks into his own experiences and surroundings with a clear eye of a newcomer; he must learn to love the world around him and cultivate the spirit of adventurism
Ø Ideas from experience - experiences need not be unusual. Common experiences that are properly packaged by a deft writer often provide article ideas with which many readers can identify
Ø Ideas from the internet - information is made available right at one’s fingertips, thus reducing the world we live into a virtual global village
Ø Ideas from the publicists - public relations people will suggest story topics that are not self-serving
Ø Ideas from editors - in a growing publishing firm, a writer may get ideas from the editor which can guarantee publication of the article



FINDING THE FACTS

1) Interview or primary research   

Ø Prepare for an interview - always learn as much as possible about your subject
before the appointment
Ø Encourage response - to inspire interest, so the interviewee will explore the depths of his point of view
Ø End the interview appropriately - do not close the doors permanently between you and the interviewee

2) Library or secondary research - many writers build extensive files of newspapers and magazine clippings for reference

3) Observation - the writer is drawn to the story by participating in an actual event or watching others take part in it

4) Legwork -  refers to interviewing, to observing, to almost any kind of research that takes the writer away from his desk

5) Correspondence â€" articles may be researched through correspondence â€" electronic mail (e-mail) or the so-called “snail mail”



WRITING THE FEATURE ARTICLE

The Feature Pyramid











ORGANIZING THE MATERIAL

Ø   Level 1 â€" involves nothing more than reading the research material
Ø   Level 2 â€" arranging notes and materials to be used
Ø   Level 3 â€" outlining the article which makes use of anecdotes, statistics, incidents and descriptions
Ø   Level 4 â€" quantum jump or “perspirational system of writing”


DETERMINING THE THEME

Ø   A writer must read and organize his material in some way before beginning to write
Ø   One should write a title or at least a thematic sentence

Without a theme, the writer has no guide to tell him what to ignore and what to highlight.


OVERCOMING THE WRITER’S BLOCK
   
It will help a lot to deviate your energy and attention elsewhere, if your creativity is simply not working.


BASIC CONSIDERATIONS

1)   Mechanics of writing
2)   Writer’s idiosyncracies
3)   Forms of features â€" there is no “proper form” of the feature article
4)   Style and content â€" the general style favored consists of original phrases made up of familiar words

Ø   How long are the articles?
Ø   What subjects are covered?
Ø   Do the editors favor stylistic devices?
Ø   Do the editors seem to like for writers to do on-the-scene or atmospheric research?
Ø   What are the publication’s editorial policies?
Ø   Who are the readers or target audience?


LEADS IN FEATURE WRITING

1) Narrative lead â€" draws the reader into the story by allowing him to identify the person in the
midst of the action
2) Summary lead â€" gives the gist of the story and lets the reader decide if he is interested
enough to read the rest of the story
3) Descriptive lead â€" conjures mental pictures of the subject for the reader
4) Quotation lead â€" a profound quote by a well-known personality gives insights
5) Question lead â€" succeeds in challenging the reader’s knowledge or curiosity
6) Direct address lead â€" implies that there is something in the story that concerns the reader
7) Combination lead â€" combination of two or more leads, using the best elements of each. Quotation lead could be combined with descriptive of narrative leads 



ENDING OF FEATURES

1) Summary ending â€" ties up the loose ends of the story and points back to the lead
2) Climax ending â€" writer stops at the point where the outcome is clear, rather than continuing in literary form up to the end
3) Un-ending ending â€" ends by emphasizing a key, unanswered question, ending the story just before the climax to leave his readers speculating on the ultimate conclusion
4) Stinger ending â€" a startling, surprising ending that jolts the reader, using the body of the story to set up the reader the unexpected conclusions


EFFECTIVE TOOLS
Ø Quotations â€" add voice that never fails to perk up the reader
Ø Anecdotes â€" illustrate or point out to examples, support generalizations, show or reveal
Ø Description â€" captures prevailing features of a person under focus
Ø Evidences and other related materials â€" enhance the body of the article


NEED FOR REVISION

Revision is part of writing. It allows a writer to spot a grammatical error, an unfair adjective or libelous word.
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