Feature writing is a form of journalism that involves writing in-depth, informative, and engaging articles on various topics, such as current events, personalities, and relevant issues. These articles are typically longer than news stories and aim to entertain readers while providing them with valuable information. Feature writing is widely used in magazines, newspapers, and online media.
Key characteristics of feature writing include:
- Realism, subjectivity, and creativity: Feature stories are not fictional but heavily rely on realism, subjectivity, and creativity to connect with readers.
- Emotional connection: The purpose of feature writing is to emotionally connect with readers, making it a powerful tool for raising awareness and bringing attention to important issues.
- Less objective than straight news: Feature articles are often less objective than straight news, allowing writers to explore different perspectives and present information in a more subjective manner.
Good feature writers possess several qualities, such as being imaginative, curious, attentive, unconventional, and witty. They are skilled at digging out information and can transform even dull data into interesting and sometimes amusing prose. Feature stories can be more fun to write than news stories because they offer more creative freedom.
Some tips for writing compelling feature articles include:
- Interest building: Personalize the people and events you are writing about, provide quotes, and focus on human interest to engage readers.
- Kicker: The end of a feature should have a punch line that helps the reader remember the story.
- Test your features: Write features and get opinions from others, especially editors, to improve your writing.
Feature stories can be categorized into various types, including news features and human-interest stories. While the distinction between published features and news is often clear, there are few hard boundaries between the two, and it is possible to write a feature story in the style of a news story. However, features generally take a more narrative approach, using opening paragraphs as scene-setting narrative hooks instead of delivering the most important facts.
