Feature Writing Part 2

Media Writing Feature Writing Part 2 Descriptives

Profiles

Narratives

How-to-do-its

Reviews

Analyses

Recap

• A feature story is an article in a newspaper, a magazine, or a news website that is not meant to report breaking news, but to take an in-depth look at issues behind a news story, often concentrating on background events, persons or circumstances.

• While there are no clear guidelines on what exactly consists a feature story, they often add a more human touch to reporting, while the time elapsed between an event and breaking the story is less critical than in traditional news reports.

Recap

• The features themselves are written in a less urgent fashion than news stories, sometimes taking several paragraphs to arrive at the main story while trying to engage the reader and keep them reading by employing narrative hooks*.

• Feature stories often delve deeper into their subjects, expanding on the details rather than trying to concentrate on a few important key points.

• The writing style of the articles can be more colourful and employ a more complex narrative structure*, sometimes resembling the style of a nonfiction book more than a news report.

Recap

• As the print media faces ever stiffer competition from other sources of news, feature stories are becoming more common because they can be more engaging to read.

• At many newspapers, news stories are sometimes written in “feature style”, adopting some of the conventions of feature writing while still covering breaking events.

• Wire services such as the Associated Press which previously made a point of distributing only news, now also include feature stories.

*Narrative Hook

• A narrative hook (or hook) is a literary technique in the opening of a story that "hooks“ the reader's attention so that he will read on. The "opening" may consist of several paragraphs for a short story, or several pages for a novel, but ideally, it is the opening sentence.

• One of the most common forms is dramatic action, which engages the reader into wondering what the consequences of the action will be.

• But action is not, in itself, a hook, without the reader's wondering what will happen next, or what caused the actions to occur.

*Narrative Structure

• Narrative structure is generally described as the structural framework that underlies the order and manner in which a narrative is presented to a reader, listener, or viewer.

• Theorists describing a text's narrative structure might refer to structural elements such as an introduction, in which the story's founding characters and circumstances are described; a chorus, which uses the voice of an onlooker to describe events or indicate the proper emotional response to what has just happened; or a coda, which falls at the end of a narrative and makes concluding remarks.

Descriptive Feature Articles (Descriptives)

• Descriptives are features which depict a picture of a scene in the reader’s mind: “a scene which he might never be able to visit in his lifetime. Or it made him want to go there.”

• Descriptives can also be used to present a “seamy (squalid, unpleasant) picture” which functions as “an effective way of exposing a wrong, such as a degrading slum or the threatened destruction of a wilderness”.

Elements of Descriptives

1) A focus on distinctive characteristics

• A place may have certain features that are not shared by others.

• E.g. The famous gym of Taylor’s University is set in a Balinese environment.

• E.g. A model may have chiseled cheekbones whilst an elderly individual may have a wrinkled face and a child may have a toothless grin.

• Always focus on the uniqueness of the subject (positive and negative).

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2) Careful phrasing

• One element of the descriptive is the way words are put together to evoke the picture in the reader’s mind.

• Through the phrasing of words the writer paints colour and adds flavour to the picture.

• Unlike a photographer, a writer can only depend on his skill at stringing evocative words together.

• E.g. Although her big blue eyes were filled with sorrow and her frail hands trembled, she spoke with so much conviction that I immediately realised that this was a woman whose spirit could not be broken.

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3) A reading and viewing experience

• It’s all about evoking human emotions and satisfaction.

• When the reader completes his reading of a descriptive, he/she should come away with “the feeling that (he/she) has been through a valuable reading experience.”

• The vivid descriptions used by the writer gives the reader a viewing experience as well.

E.g.

“Gloria Stevens is lying on her back, sedated but alert, staring at an image of her own beating heart. Metaphorically, Gloria's heart is the very core of her emotional self—not to be worn on the sleeve, much less displayed on an overhead monitor. More literally, it is a blood-filled pump about the size of a clenched fist whose rhythmic contractions have kept Gloria alive for 62 years, and with a little tinkering will keep her going for an indeterminate number more. At this moment, her doctor is threading a thin catheter up through her femoral artery from an incision in her groin, on into the aorta, and from there into one of the arteries encircling Gloria's heart. At the tip of the catheter is a small balloon. The doctor gently navigates the tip to a spot where plaque has narrowed the artery's channel by 90 percent. With a quick, practised movement he inflates the balloon to push back the artery wall, deflates the balloon, then inserts an expandable stent—it looks like a tiny tube of chicken wire—that will keep the passage open. As Gloria watches on the monitor, the crimp in her artery disappears, and a wide laminar flow gushes through the vessel, like a river in flood. …”

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0702/feature1

Profile Feature Articles

Profiles are features which focus on “interesting characters, their hopes, their problems, foibles and adversities, and how they finally go around problems or over hurdles in their paths.”

Profiles are about people – interesting, tragic, famous people; people undergoing unique procedures, experiencing unusual circumstances; people under the spotlight, under scrutiny, under suspicion.

Elements of Profiles

There are different elements which should be present in any profile article:

1) What the subject says

2) What the subject does

3) Description of the subject

4) History of the subject

5) What others think and say about the subject

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• What the subject says:

• Quote or paraphrase comments made by the subject.

• Choose the comments that illuminate your focus of the subject.

• What the subject does:

• Describe the subject’s actions and anecdotes, that which throw additional light on his character.

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• Description of the subject: This means details of the subject’s physical make-up • Weight • Height • Facial appearance • The way the subject moves • The way the subject speaks/gestures • The way the subject dresses • The way the subject wears his/her hair

• The more details you can provide in your article, the more vivid the picture you paint for your readers.

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• History of the subject:

• The subject’s historical background could help show how he or she has evolved and developed as a person.

• It could provide an insight into the subject’s way of thinking and acting.

• What others think and say about the subject:

• Evaluations, comments and anecdotes (stories/accounts) from friends and foes could shed light on the subject’s character.

E.g.

"I don't think of myself as a businesswoman," said Oprah Winfrey in 2002. Well, Forbes magazine certainly does. She's made their rich list every year since 1995. An abuse survivor born to a teenage mum and raised in poverty, the woman now known simply by her first name is today the head of a billion dollar media empire.

Oprah Gail Winfrey was born at home in Kosciusko, Mississippi, on January 29, 1954, her existence the result of what she called "a one-day fling under an oak tree". Her mum, a part-time maid, was 18; her father, 20. After spending her first years on her grandmother's Mississippi farm, the bright six-year-old went to live with her single mother, who struggled on welfare in a poor Milwaukee, Wisconsin, neighbourhood. She was just nine years old when her life was changed forever when she was raped by a teenage cousin. Over the next five years, she was molested by three other men, all friends of the family…

http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/oprahwinfrey/

Narrative Features (Narratives)

• Narratives are “stories”. It is an account of (a sequence of) events or happenings, written in an evocative, descriptive manner.

• It contains accurate, well-researched information, and is also interesting to read.

• It looks at intriguing people, human emotions and real situations.

• It provides the private story behind the public story.

• It reaches past the ordinary by blending the reportage of facts with the writing style of fiction.

Elements of a narrative

• Narrative features can also be defined as writing that contains the following elements:

1.Set scenes

2.Characters

3.Action that unfolds over time

4.Voice that has personality

5.A relationship with the audience

6.Destination – a theme, a purpose and a reason (for the story)

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• In Narrative Features, the 5W’s and 1H are extended significantly:

• Who becomes a character

• What becomes an action

• Where becomes a setting

• When becomes a chronology (timeline)

• Why / How becomes a process

E.g. “Relaxed maternity nurses lean against the

counter chatting. Babies cry in homey birthing rooms. The scent of flowers, recently delivered to new mothers, floats in the air.

But down a long hall, over the blue and pink squares of the maternity ward's buffed linoleum, through two locked doors, past scrub sinks and a security camera, pulses a different world.

Life-support monitors, their screens a palette of blues, greens and reds, glow in dim light. Motorized Plexiglass covers glide down tracks and seal artificial wombs that look like compartments for science fiction travellers. Respirators hiss, staving off the collapse of tiny lungs."

How-to-do-it Features

• How-to-do-its are features which contain information on how to accomplish certain tasks such as:

• building a house

• decorating a home

• changing your tires

• keeping in shape

• cooking for a party etc.

Elements of how-to-do-its

1) Information and Advice

The objective of how-to-do-its is to offer advice, give instructions, extend suggestions, give tutorials etc.

2) Clarity

Write in a straightforward and clear-cut manner. Makes sure that instructions are easily followed and leave out technical words or jargon.

The writer has to keep to the subject matter, and not go off on tangents.

E.g. HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE

“Whether you’re rich or wanting to marry someone rich – there are online dating services which target the wealthy and provide a personal service to their clients. So, are they for real, or just a con to make you get your credit card out?

Here’re some of the top online dating websites that may well open the (virtual) door to your future happiness. Berkeley-Sweetingham.com This is truly exclusive dating with a service and price tag to match. …If you’re not in that category, it’s worth a visit to the site just to find out how the “other half” lives. Would you fly to Nice (in the south of France) for a date for the day – well, you get the idea! Marry-an-ugly-millionaire-online-dating-agency.com If you need a good laugh and want to enjoy a very amusing, completely spoof online dating site – you’ll want to check this out. Someone with a good sense of humour set this site up and it’s clearly popular – and rightly so. If you’re fed up with the online dating scene – this is the ONLY site for you to visit. And finally... There are plenty of genuine sites out there that offer free trials for men and women simply looking for love. Take advantage of these to find out which sites and forums you enjoy and best of luck!”

How-to-do-its continued… • Not all how-to-do-it articles are as shallow or

simplistically written like this.

• Good how-to-do-its should incorporate solid research and genuine facts and information, clear instructions etc. that readers may otherwise not be able to find all in one place (within one article).

• How-to-do-its should also be based on topics genuinely relevant and of meaning to your target readers.

• To maintain reader interest, how-to-do-its need to be written in a lively, attention-getting manner as well, complete with graphics and pictures if necessary.

Analyses Articles • Analyses are background articles aimed at answering the

question ‘what’s it all about?’

• E.g. when a new war, social explosion, a political upheaval or any other momentous events make the headlines.

• Analyses are also sometimes called backgrounders.

• These stories add meaning to current issues in the news by explaining them further.

• These articles bring an audience up-to-date, explaining how this country, this organisation, this person happens to be where it is now.

Elements of Analyses

Following are the elements that should be present in an analysis story:

• Dissection of the topic/subject matter

• Anticipation of arguments and questions

• Prioritisation of clarity and unity

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1. Dissection • The analysis seeks to examine an important matter. • I.e. “Shining a fierce light on an important matter

and dissecting it with words that reveal its components and values”.

2. Anticipation of arguments and questions • The writer attempts to give a balanced account of

the important matter that he or she is examining. • In the process, writer must keep in mind the

arguments and questions that may/will come from the readers.

• Writer needs to demonstrate expertise in the topic from all angles/points of view.

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3) Prioritisation of clarity and unity

• The writer must present his/her analysis in a clear manner.

• The writer’s ideas must flow in a smooth and coherent way, complete with well-researched, credible support to his/her points.

• The writer must be careful not to distract or confuse the reader by going off on a tangent.

• In summary: Stick to the argument and present information in a clear, logical manner.

E.g. of analyses story ideas • What are some examples of analyses feature stories that

could be brainstormed from news stories?

• Ask questions that arouse interest when you read news stories. If you are curious, your readers would be curious too.

• Then develop an analysis story from the questions that arose.

• Did a culture of hierarchy cause the South Korea ferry tragedy?

• Who’s really making the money out of the toll increases?

• Malaysia: multicultural heaven or racism capital?

• Selangor’s water woes: what went wrong?

• The MH370 incident: lessons for Malaysia and the world

Review Articles

• A review is an evaluation of a publication, such as a movie, video game, musical composition, book, or a piece of hardware like a car, appliance, or computer.

• Reviews could incorporate:

• an overview of features,

• a tried and tested account,

• a critical statement, and

• a rating (for instance, one to five stars) to indicate its relative merit

Film reviews

• Film critics working for newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, and online publications, mainly review new releases.

• Normally they only see any given film once and have only a day or two to formulate opinions.

• Despite this, critics have an important impact on films, especially those of certain genres.

• The popularity of mass-marketed action, horror, and comedy films tend not to be greatly affected by a critic's overall judgment of a film.

Film reviews: continued…

• The plot summary and description of a film that makes up the majority of any film review can have an important impact on whether people decide to see a film.

• For prestige films with a limited release, such as independent dramas, the influence of reviews is extremely important.

• Poor reviews will often doom a film to obscurity and financial loss.

Elements of a Review

• The elements of a review are:

• Dissection

• Anticipation of arguments and questions

• Prioritisation of clarity and unity

• The additional element that a review has is:

• The opinion of the writer

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1) Dissection • Examine the movie/restaurant/gadget and dissect its

features, advantages and disadvantages to your readers.

2) Anticipation of arguments and questions • Support your arguments with credible facts, examples,

illustrations and other information. • Write a balanced review but bringing in counter

arguments and rebutting them with evidence.

3) Clarity and Unity • Present your views in a logical, well-argued manner. • Make sure that your reader is able to discern clearly

your final opinion (yes, no, maybe) – it is a review afterall.

How to write a review

1) Get familiar

2) Formulate an opinion

3) Create a good lead

4) Recap

5) Support opinion

6) Be interesting

7) Be honest

E.g. of planning a movie review

1) GET FAMILIAR – this means research • After you have selected your movie, get familiar with its context. • Before you even see the movie, get to know a little about it. • What have the actors and director worked on before? Maybe

check out some of their past work. Are they Oscar winners? Are they known for a certain style?

• Is the movie based on a book or an historical event? Is it a remake or a sequel?

• All of this information will help you understand the movie better. You'll pick up on details, allusions, trademarks of the actor or director, and probably have more insight into important story elements.

• You'll be able to tell readers how it lived up to the original, say, or the book. These are the things that help a critic offer a solid opinion that is of interest to the fan

Adapted from http://www.howtodothings.com/hobbies/a2206-how-to-write-a-movie-review.html

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2) FORMULATE AN OPINION – this is the gist of your review

After you see the movie, formulate a specific opinion in one sentence.

Your job is to give an opinion of the movie. Ultimately, this may come down to a "thumbs up" or

"three stars out of five." You want to have a specific thesis with credible support

to drive your critique. For example, "I didn't like this comedy" becomes "The story

had funny moments but it went on too long." "This horror movie is good" becomes "This horror movie

works because it builds suspense right up until the end." So, try to find that very specific opinion that will be the

foundation of your review.


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3) CREATE A GOOD LEAD – attract attention from the start You want your reader to be interested in what you have

to say. Grab the reader in that first or "lead" paragraph in one of

several ways: • Start with a great quote from the movie, and explain

how it reflects the movie • Refer to the reputation of the actor or director and

compare it to how he or she did in this movie; compare this movie to another well-known film in a few sentences or two

• Explain what your expectation was, and then if it was fulfilled or not. Then end that first paragraph with your opinion statement.


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4) RECAP

Recap briefly, but don't give away anything big.

If you've read professional reviews, you know they always include a little bit of recap.

Some readers like to know what they're getting into before they lay down their money for a ticket.

You can tell people the basic premise of the movie. In fact, you should give them the basic premise, and tell them how the story builds, but don't give away key moments, especially not the ending!

Keep it brief. Then get to reviewing.


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5) SUPPORT OPINION Back up your main opinion with specifics.

The readers now know you think "This comedy had funny moments but went on too long." It's time for you to prove it.

Talk about how the teen actors had good timing like they did in that other movie.

Talk about how the writers did a great parody of that famous film. But then add that there were too many scenes involving the family or the boyfriend.

Talk about the fact that there were multiple endings and all of them were long.

Use specifics to make your readers understand your opinion.


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6) BE INTERESTING

Just because this is a review doesn't mean it's got to be dull.

From lead to ending paragraph, make the review engaging, using metaphors, analogy, specific adjectives and adverbs to create the images you're looking for.

But also be concise. A review isn't a place for long diatribes or flowery prose.


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7) BE OBJECTIVE

Your reader and the work you're critiquing both deserve an objective opinion.

So even if you HATE that actor or LOVE that actress, be sure to look at the actual quality of the film.

Have some standards in mind. A comedy should be funny, a horror movie should be scary, etc.; judge the movie against those standards, not against any pre-existing opinions you may have.

It will make the review more valuable to the reader and objective writing is always best.


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Feature Writing Part 2