Writing the Short Feature

 

You are telling a story. It has the same elements as any story you tell a friend at a party, after work or while at the gym:

    • A compelling beginning that invites readers into the experience and clarifies what the story will be about
    • A middle that tells the person (readers) what happened, why your story is different or why they should care about your story
    • Details that shore this up
    • An ending

 

First: What is my story about?  (Write down in one sentence). This is your story’s theme. Writing it down will can help keep you on track.

Truffles: About the biggest black truffle ever found in Oregon.

Hold on: A woman who makes dolls for sick or injured kids in the hospital.

Patriots: Tight-lipped but winners

 

A Compelling Beginning focuses your readers’ attention. How will you invite readers into your story?

Use description, a scene (with action) or an anecdote as your lead to introduce your story and place your readers’ focus.

Examples:

  • “It looks like coal, smells like dirt and tastes like heaven.”
  • “Bill Belichick is excited. Really, he is. Or rather, he said he is…” ending with, “Anyone observing Belichick’s news conference Friday…can attest that he expressed it with all the emotions of a rutabaga.”
  • “The dolls come in a variety of hair colors: yellow, black, brown, even red….”

 

Now for the meat of the story. What do you want readers to know about your story? How will you communicate that information?

 

Organization is the scaffolding of your story. Like scaffolding in many buildings, it is necessary, but essential for the story to work.

 

Organization means you think out the order in which you want to present the information and quotes you have gathered. You can present that material through:

 

  • Explanation
  • Paraphrasing
  • Direct Quotes
  • Description
  • Scene

 

Truffles:

Large truffles are rare in Oregon (explanatory)

How one guy found the truffle “How the truffle met the plate”  (anecdotes and quotes)

What the chef will do with the truffle (description of food)

 

Hold on Tightly:

 

Who the dolls are for and why  (explanatory)

How she came up with the idea (anecdote and quotes)

What’s next (explanatory)

 

Everybody Dances

 

A dance workshop for people with different physical abilities (explanatory)

How the founder of DanceAbility runs the workshop (scene and quotes)

Background of Danceability (explanation)

Focus on participants (mini scenes and quotes)

 

Wind-up. How will I end this story?

What Endings do:

  • Point readers to what will be happening in the future
  • Refer back to the lead to tie the story together
  • Use a punchy quote or mini-scene to emphasize the mood or point of the story.

 

Truffles: “Along with Higgins, several stopped what they were doing, picked up the biggest black truffle they’d ever seen and inhaled.”

 

Hold On: “In the future….”

 

Everybody: Quote: “I forgot I had one…That’s the sign of a good workshop.”

 

 

 

Short Feature check-list

 

Organization

 

  • Is the point of the story made clear within the first two grafs?

 

  • Is their a ‘grab” in the lead or beginning, either a phrase, descriptive element, anecdote or statement that will get readers’ attention?

 

  • Does the middle part of the story balance what is happening in the present with background or contextual information?

 

  • Are your source’s quotes clear and to the point? Do you use too many partial quotes? Remember, one source per graf.

 

  • Is the story organized in a logical manner so that readers can follow it easily? Remember: one topic per graf.

 

Style

 

  • Be direct: Use simple subject/verb sentence constructions.
  • Avoid using too many introductory clauses.
  • Avoid long sentences with several clauses, or clauses connected by the word “and.”
  • Use active voice. Passive voice sounds academic and keeps readers at arms’ length.
    • Passive voice: The present was given to her by her aunt.
    • Active voice:            Her aunt gave her the present.

 

  • Use  proper attribution style. Punctuation goes inside quote marks. Attribution usually goes after the quote.

“I don’t like how truffles taste,” said third grader Mark Jones.

 

  • Keep verb tense consistent. Most feature stories are written in the past tense.

 

Conclusion

Do not wrap up story with an editorial comment: “It is clear the City Council is taking steps to deal with the head-ache of pot holes.” OR “Delilah Duck is a shining example of her sorority’s shining spirit.” A source can say those things, but you, the reporter, can NOT make judgments or draw conclusions.