This page is devoted to feature writing, one of my favorite styles of writing. In the “old days” of newspapering, the Sunday edition of the paper was carried by a full-length feature that told the story of someone or something important in a colorful, dynamic way.
Definition
Good features inform readers about a matter that is important and timely. They do it in a way that reveals human nature or perhaps even increases the reader’s understanding of it.
Often, features begin with an anecdotal lead, include a nut graf and convey the quoted voices of people who have differing views on the subject.
Features vs. narrative non-fiction
Narrative non-fiction articles are a type of feature writing, but everyday features rarely qualify as literary journalism.
More of my thoughts on narrative non-fiction (or literary journalism) here.
Selected Clips
Is this the most cowardly of boss behaviour?
Speechless: Three big sins of public speaking
Interview with Serap Çileli: Forced Marriage in Germany
Is your colleague pure evil?
Forced Marriage Among Europe’s Immigrants: Hülya Kalkan’s Story
Take your power back from a control freak
Keep calm and conquer stress: Autogenic training
Swimming for her Life: Facing aggressive cancer and family tragedy, Lucy Kunz took her fight underwater
Rotarian helps refugees in Germany
Knights Of Cavalia – Inside the big tent of a theatrical spectacle
Review / Exhibit: Show Explores Life Under the Lens
Opening Up – Some German firms let employees edit intranet
German Program Helps Schools Slow Brain Drain
Could a new R&D metric give analysts more insight than standard measures?
Private Company Reporting: What Investors Need
Is the wealth management business ready for artificial intelligence?
Turning Trash into Treasure
Cat therapists can cure your kitty’s blues
Dot coms Furnish English Language With German Twist
The Art of Living in a Museum Piece
Thomas Hirschhorn – When Art is a Community Project
You want it, you buy it, you forget it
Is there time to slow down?
What exactly do you hear?
A Matter of Honor, Your Honor?
In Germany, Debate Over Muslim Headscarf Rages On
Sarajevo: A Ride of Hope and Disappointment
Alabama feeds Mother Russia
Harvesting Olives in Tuscany – where else?
Some Native Alaskans Benefit From VoiceStream Deal
Lufthansa Agrees to Change Policy On Deportees After Tragic Death
Article: The Hero's Journey Structure for Writers of Narrative Non-Fiction and Feature Writers
When I discovered the Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler, I wondered why I had never heard it discussed among journalists and writers of narrative non-fiction.
It’s all about recognizing the steps in a hero’s journey and making those come to life in your narrative. The book takes the hero’s journey as defined by Joseph Campbell and makes it practical for writers. It’s focused on fiction but applies to non-fiction as well.
As I worked through the book, I frequently had to stop and write down new “treatments” and mini stories that came to mind as I thought about what I read and explored the dramas in my own life.
When I wrote a 90-page book manuscript about a Turkish woman murdered by her brother, I used a traditional outline to organize the overwhelming amount of information and then wrote from the outline. (More here on why my book was never published.)
During the outline phase, I analyzed the main character’s complication, point of insight and resolution and made sure these came out in the dialogue and scenes, as taught by Jon Franklin in Writing for Story.
Resources
Some of the most famous features are published by the Wall Street Journal in the newspaper’s A-Hed section.
The first story to win a Pulitzer prize for feature writing was Mr. Kelly’s Monster by Jon Franklin.
The Art and Craft of Feature Writing
