LESSON ONE: THE BASICS

 

WHAT IS A FEATURE ARTICLE?

So, what is a feature article? To be honest, there are many, many definitions of what a feature article is. But for the purposes of this workshop, a feature article is an article that uses two or more original sources (interviewees) and a range of supplementary sources (studies, statistics etc) to explore a certain theme or topic.

That’s a very open-ended definition of a feature article and could include anything from an investigative feature to a human-interest story. But it does rule out a few types of articles. So let’s keep in mind that this section of the course is not applicable to news articles, personal essays, opinion articles and profiles/Q&A’s.

SOURCES IN FEATURE WRITING

In feature writing we have two different kinds of potential sources for our story; original sources and supplementary sources.

ORIGINAL SOURCES

Original sources are immediate first-hand accounts of an event or issue. In feature writing this will usually be an interview with someone. If the interviewee has been interviewed before on the topic of the feature article, your interview with them should say something new, uncover unknown facts or present a new angle. If you interview someone for a story you should be aware of what they have already said publicly elsewhere and try and ask something different (for more tips on interviewing head to Article Hustler). Your feature article should include at least two interviews, preferably with interviewees with different opinions on the topic of the article.

SUPPLEMENTARY SOURCES

In any good feature article, your story should also include supplementary sources. These include things like academic or scientific studies, statistics or newspaper articles. It is important to make sure you credit any of the supplementary sources you use in the body of your article. This can be done simply by hyperlinking to the source.

Eg.  According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 1.1 million Australians were underemployed as of February 2019.

If you are wanting to use academic sources or studies Google Scholar can be a good tool to use. However, be aware that most academic journal articles will not be available in-full for free online. But: pro tip, if you email the author of the academic article and ask for a copy politely they will normally send you a PDF for free! For statistics the Australian Bureau of Statistics is another reliable source.

Try to avoid websites like Wikipedia or other websites that can be easily edited by anyone.

CHOOSING A TOPIC

The first thing you need to decide when writing a feature article is the topic of your article. Unlike, a profile or Q & A you should know your topic before you find your sources and then find sources who know about your topic or have lived experience. When deciding on a topic for a feature article there are a few things to consider. I’ve turned these into seven simple questions you can ask yourself:

1. Does this story have the ability to impact peoples lives?

2. Is this story relevant now?

3. Does this story involve conflict? (this could include opposing opinions)

4. Is there something highly unusual about this story?

5. Does this story uncover an injustice or wrong-doing?

6. Could this story change public opinion or make people question their own social/ political values?

7. Am I in the best position to write this article?

You might already have a topic for an article that you want to write, maybe that’s why your doing this course, but even if you have a topic it’s still important to ask yourselves these questions. If your answer to at least five of these questions is ‘yes’, then your article is more likely to get published because it’s what editors call newsworthy.

EXERCISE ONE: PICKING YOUR TOPIC

LESSON TWO: STRUCTURING THE ARTICLE

 
 

Now that you’ve decided on the topic for your article, interviewed your original sources and gathered your supplementary sources, it’s time to start writing your article.  Below is a general structure for a feature article.

THE LEAD

Your lead sentence should grab the reader. This is your first and sometimes only moment to impress the reader and keep them reading your article. If you’re writing for a print publication you have a few more sentences than you do online. Generally speaking, a reader of a print magazine will take a little more time to get into your story. Online however, attention spans are short and there is A LOT of content so you need yours to stand out.

There are a few approaches for your first sentence:

1.       A highly descriptive lead that sets the scene for the reader.

Eg. “As I lay in bed, legs splayed with my underwear tangled around my ankle, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of disgust.” Ruby Jones, Mous Magazine

2.       Make a statement

Eg. “When you’re in the closet, you imagine coming out to be this really transformative experience that will fix all of your ills and problems.” – Anthony Nocera, Mous Magazine.

3.       Say something relatable and then flip it.

“If you’ve ever been overloaded with uni work or had a rough day at the office and thought, “screw it, I’ll just become a stripper”, I have some bad news for you: strip clubs in Melbourne are becoming increasingly competitive, making getting – and keeping – a job exceptionally difficult.” Ruby Summers, GOAT.

THE OPENING PARAGRAPH

Following on from your lead sentence you need to tell the reader why they are reading. Unlike news reporting, you don’t want to give them the who, what, when, where and how of the story, but by the end of the first paragraph or two (depending on how long your word count is) you need to reveal what your article is REALLY about.

THE STORY

Now you’re on to the main part of your story. This is where all those sources you interviewed come in. Take time to describe your interviewees and the setting you met them in and think about how it adds to the overall story.

 The best feature articles are quote rich, they allow the interviewees or talent deliver the informative crux of the story and, as a writer, you provide the context and description surrounding those quotes.

It’s important to remember, when you are writing a feature article, you are not the expert on the topic (event though you might be one), but rather you are the readers ears and eyes. Your job is to make them feel like they are with you, experiencing everything first-hand. When you are describing settings or people in your article remember to think about all of your senses.

When your writing the body of a feature article, the words or quotes you leave out of the article is just as important as the quotes you leave in. Be careful not to take quotes out of context in order to support your own biases.

A MEMORABLE ENDING

Now that you’ve told your story, you need to make the reader remember it. This is NOT like writing an essay. Your ending should not just be a summary of everything but rather it should make the reader think, leave them wanting more or make them laugh.

1.       If you have a particularly good quote, end on a quote from an interviewee.

2.       Go full circle and link back to the start of the article.

3.       End with something poetic or humorous.

EXERCISE TWO: PEOPLE & SETTINGS

SIMPLE WAYS TO MAKE YOUR ARTICLE BETTER

EDIT, EDIT, EDIT

We all make mistakes, but no one wants to publish mistakes. Make sure you’re using spell check and Grammarly. Also read your work out loud to yourself or someone else to see how it sounds and flows. It will also help you realise if you’ve left words out or haven’t punctuated a sentence properly.

BE DESCRIPTIVE

One of the things that makes feature articles a lot more enjoy able to read than hard news, is descriptive language. Don’t be afraid to use a more creative writing style or to write in a distinct tone.  Feature writing is where your voice as a writer can be used. So use adjectives, similes, metaphors or other creative writing techniques.

KEEP SENTENCES SHORT AND CLEAR

Even though you want to be descriptive, keep your sentences short. Sentences should be a maximum of two lines long. Keep the readers attention with varying word and sentence length. You don’t need to use convoluted language in order to be an intelligent writer.

LESSON THREE: PITCHING

 
 

One of the most challenging tasks as a writer is pitching your work. It’s not a technically difficult task, but it can be emotionally daunting particularly if you get rejected a few times. But the important thing to remember, is getting rejected is a normal part of being a writer. But being exploited is not a normal part of being a writer, so make sure you only pitch stories you are comfortable telling

Some publications will have submission guidelines and submission forms online which means you can go right ahead an submit a full article to them. For other publications you will need to pitch your idea to the editor before writing it.

Before submitting an article or pitching an article, it is important to remember the following things:

1.       Find out how the publication receives submissions.

2.       Read the publication and understand their tone, style and the type of things they publish.

3.       Pitch something relevant to the publication. If they only publish 800 word articles don’t send them a 3000 word essay and vice versa.

PITCH TEMPLATE FOR COLD PITCHES

Hi [Insert editors name],  

Hope you are well.

I found your email [insert where you found their email eg. On the publications website] and have included some pitches in this email for your consideration.

A little bit about me; [Insert a 100-150 word bio about your experience as a writer and your publication history. If the article your pitching is about an industry that you have specific experience in, include that information too if you feel comfortable].

Pitches: 

[1. Title of first article pitch

Insert you pitch here it should be no longer than 200 words and include what the article is about, who you will interview and why you are the best person to write this article.]

I sincerely hope you will consider publishing one of my articles and I look forward to hearing from you.

Now it’s your turn! Pitch us an article!

Sometimes the hardest part of pitching can be pressing send, so give it a practice run below and send your pitch off into the world (our editors inbox)!

Thanks for joining Back to Basics we hope we’ll be seeing your pitches soon!!