Lecture Feature

7/31/2019 Lecture Feature

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ABNER L. PUREZA

THE COCONUT, QUEZON NHS

THE CREATIVE REALM of FEATURE WRITING


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FEATURES

Features are stories that get into the lives of

people.

Features involve varied tones, voices and

styles that entertain the readers.

Features are essays based on facts, The

main goal is to entertain and to inform.

Features are human-interest stories ranging

from ordinary to sophisticated topics.


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PRIMING

Nourish the mind. Think for a moment. What types of images come to your mind?

Sunset at the beach

verdant mountainscascading waterfalls

moonlight

night sky

raindropsfuneral


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IMAGINE

IMAGINATION allows

you to create images.

IMAGERY is an

important element infeature writing.

IMAGINATION opens

your mind to a far-

distant world, it

transports you tosomewhere else.


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EFFECTIVE BEGINNING: THE LEAD

Feature leads, sometimes called delayed

leads, unfold more slowly. They allow the

writer to tell a story in a more traditional,

narrative way. The objective, of course, is todraw the reader into the story, to make

them wantto read more.


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FIRST STOP: GETTING STARTED

1.Setting a Scene, Painting a PictureFeature leads often begin by setting a scene or painting a picture -

in words - of a person or place. Heres an example.

The young Egyptian professional could pass for any New York

bachelor. Dressed in a crisp polo shirt and swathed in cologne, he races

his Nissan Maxima through the rain-slicked streets of Manhattan, late fora date with a tall brunette. At red lights, he fusses with his hair.

What sets the bachelor apart from other young men on the makeis the chaperon sitting next to him -- a tall, bearded man in a white robe

and stiff embroidered hat.

Notice how effective the phrases like crisp polo shirt and rain-slickedstreets. We dont yet know exactly what this article is about, but weredrawn into the story through these descriptive passages.


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GETTING STARTED.

2.Use An AnecdoteAnother way to begin a feature article is to tell a story or an anecdote

(feature leads are sometimes anecdotal leads.) Heres an example:

BEIJINGThe first sign of trouble was powder in the babys urine.Then there was blood. By the time the parents took their son to the hospital, he

had no urine at all. Kidney stones were the problem, doctors told the parents. The baby

died on May 1 in the hospital, just two weeks after the first symptoms appeared.His name was Yi Kaixuan. He was 6 months old.

The parents filed a lawsuit on Monday in the arid northwest province ofGansu, where the family lives, asking for compensation from Sanlu Group, themaker of the powdered baby formula that Kaixuan had been drinking. It seemed

like a clear-cut liability case; since last month, Sanlu has been at the center ofChinas biggest contaminated food crisis in years. But as in two other courtsdealing with related lawsuits, judges have so far declined to hear the case.


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GETTING STARTED.

3.Taking Time to Tell the Story

Youll notice that the writers in theexamples take several paragraphs to begin

their stories. Thats fine feature leads innewspaper articles generally employ two tofour paragraphs to set a scene or convey ananecdote (magazine articles can take muchlonger.) But pretty soon, even a feature storyhas to get to the point.


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GETTING STARTED.

4.The Nutgraph The nutgraph is where the feature writer lays out for the reader

exactly what the story is all about. It usually follows the first fewparagraphs of the scene-setting or story-telling the writer has done. Anutgraph can be a single paragraph or more.

Heres Andrea Elliotts lead , this time with the nutgraph included:

The young Egyptian professional could pass for any New Yorkbachelor.

Dressed in a crisp polo shirt and swathed in cologne, he raceshis Nissan Maxima through the rain-slicked streets of Manhattan, late fora date with a tall brunette. At red lights, he fusses with his hair.

What sets the bachelor apart from other young men on the makeis the chaperon sitting next to him -- a tall, bearded man in a white robeand stiff embroidered hat.

"I pray that Allah will bring this couple together," the man, SheikReda Shata, says, clutching his seat belt and urging the bachelor toslow down.


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GETTING STARTED.

Christian singles have coffee hour. Young Jewshave JDate. But many Muslims believe that it is forbiddenfor an unmarried man and woman to meet in private. Inpredominantly Muslim countries, the job of makingintroductions and even arranging marriages typically falls

to a vast network of family and friends. In Brooklyn, there is Mr. Shata. Week after week, Muslims embark on dates with

him. Mr. Shata, the imam of a Bay Ridge mosque, jugglessome 550 "marriage candidates," from a gold-toothedelectrician to a professor at Columbia University. Themeetings often unfold on the green velour couch of hisoffice, or over a meal at his favorite Yemeni restaurant onAtlantic Avenue.


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GETTING STARTED

So now we know this is the story of a Brooklyn imamwho helps bring young Muslim couples together formarriage. Elliott could just as easily have written thestory with a hard-news lead something like this:

An imam based in Brooklyn says he works as achaperon with hundreds of young Muslims in an effortto bring them together for marriage.

Thats certainly quicker. But its not nearly asinteresting as Elliotts descriptive, well-craftedapproach.


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USING THE FEATURE APPROACH.

When done right, feature leads can be a joy

to read. But feature leads arent appropriate

for every story in a newspaper or website.

Hard-news leads are generally used forbreaking news, and for more important, time-

sensitive stories. Feature leads are generally

used on stories that are less deadline-oriented, and for those that examine issues

in a more in-depth way.


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THE BODY.

THE BODY IS THE TIME TO SHOW what

youve got in your research, understanding of

the topic, etc.

Provide vital background information

Use a thread

Use transition

Establish a voice

Apply trailblazer principles.


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CONCLUDING YOUR FEATURE STORY.

Every good beginning deserves a good

ending.

Concluding a feature story is a personal

matter of creativity.

Conclusion must be appropriate to the type

of feature story being written.


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WHAT ARE SOME WAYS IN WHICH YOUR

FEATURE WRITING ABILITY CAN BE ENHANCED?


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1.READING BEST STORIES.

Nothing can help you learn how to write

creative feature stories better thanreading good examples. Take note of the

style and how they have used the smallamount of words to their advantage. Choose

authors that you enjoy, and also choose

some of the classics. Pay attention to howthe authors develop their masterpiece and

how they structure their plots.


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3. CROW ABOUT CHANCE ENCOUNTERS

If youre stuck for ideas, carry a notebook

everywhere and write down yourobservations.Youll get some great lines of

dialogue by keeping your ears open on thebus or in cafes, and an unusual phrase may

be prompted by something you see or smell.

You may even meet someone while on thefast food who can be a good topic to write

about.


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4.COMING OUT SWINGING.

The first pagesome would say the first

sentenceof any writing should grab the

readers attention and leave him/her wanting

more.


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Youre almost certain to hit some bumps in

the road to finishing your story. Youve got to

work through them, though. Set aside a time

to write each and every day, and make it agoal to finish.


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6. NOURISH = FLOURISH

Like any other creative

skill,

writing a feature needs to

become a habit so that it

might reach its fullpotential. You might start

by working on this twice a

week for 15 minutes and

then increasing the time

after.


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7. LASTLY, EXPERIMENT, PLAY, ENJOY WRITING.

Remember that writing is about exploring

new worlds, characters, and themes.
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FEATURE WRITING PROMPTS

Even the best writers suffer from writers

block during their career. There are many

ways that writers both amateurs and

professionals can help trigger theirimagination and cure writers block.

In this guide we shall look at writing prompts

as one of these ways.


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SAMPLE FEATURE STORY.

I stand in front of the sunrise today, filled with awe atthe beauty that lies before me. I wish I could have atleast an idea of what falls beyond the horizon, just asmuch as I wish the sea will open up to me and eat mewhole. Yet the sea seems to bear a somewhat

unexplainable message I couldnt decode. Somethingperhaps everybody knows about, something I shouldhave known a long time ago just as much.

I stand here between the sun and the sea,both of which existed since time immemorial. I lay

still, nursing my cup of coffee that turned cold, ascold as your heart has become and my pack ofcigarettes, as stale as my love for you. The love younever knew existed.


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CONTINUATION

The wind blew right into my face, sendingshivers to my spine. It gently flew away my hairthat covered the tears that I have unconsciouslycried for you. I did not notice how strong the windhas become until I felt it leaving a dry saline lineupon my face.

I could tell you a thousand and one wordsabout a thousand and one topics that we talkedabout over our hour-long dinners, but I still could

not find the courage to tell you the one thing thatmatteredand still mattersmost to me: I loveyou.


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CONTINUATION

I wish that you would give me even the least morsel of hopethat things could still be better between us, and that one day maycome when I will not have to ask if you are the one for me or not,because by then you already are the one. But you seem to havefound the path that leads to a different directionthe path thattakes you away from me and into someone elses waiting arms. It

pains me so much that in spite of my struggle to hold on to whatcould be, all that is left for me to do is set you free and becontented with what could have been.

So here I am, escaping from the bondage of you. I am ahundred miles away from the past that I am painstakingly trying tomend. This journey is for the part of me I wish to redeem, for noother reason but to put you all behind me. These will be the last

tears Ill cry for you. It wont be easy, I know. But just as the sunthat never fails to rise each waking moment of every day and thesea that forever links one landmass to the other, this decisionwouldnt fail me. You will now be just a past worth smiling about asI think of how much I will be capable of loving another, in time. I didlove you, you know. To the point of surrender, but then again, you

never knew.


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CONTINUATION

In spite of my desperation to hold on to what has been,I will be alright and will face each tomorrow as a journeytowards becoming the person that you deserve and deservesyou. But I hope that once in a while you will wonder if I amalright, and think fondly about me and the times that wespent together. Should I have no chance at all of knowing it, Ihope that you will still keep me even in the remotest cornerof your heart because, even just for a fleeting moment, youtoo loved me as a friend!

As I walked away, I knew that what just happened was

a sign, not of a second chance, but that life is never aboutclosing your door to the world. That life is about beinghuman, that it is all right to cry and to make mistakes. Andthat however painful love can be, it is the only thing thatmakes us truly human.


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LAST PART.

You were then my entire universe.It's time you ought to know. I love you,

but you can never love me. I dont

deserve you and you dont deserve meeither. So, I have to say goodbye, notbecause I dont love you anymorebut

because its the right thing to do.Goodbye, I need to leave a part of mebehind in order to move on.


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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

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