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HOW TO WRITE FEATURE STORIES

Prepared by: Celine D. Reyes, MBA
WHAT ARE FEATURE STORIES?
Human-interest articles that focus on particular people, places and events.
Journalistic, researched, descriptive, colorful, thoughtful, reflective, thorough writing about original ideas.
Cover topics in depth, going further than mere hard news coverage by amplifying and explaining the most
interesting and important elements of a situation or occurrence.
Popular content elements of newspapers, magazines, blogs, websites, newsletters, television broadcasts and
other mass media.
While journalists reporting late-breaking hard news don't have enough preparation time and copy length to
include much background and description, writers of features have the space and time to evoke imagery in
their stories and fill in details of the circumstances and atmosphere.
A feature story is not meant to report the latest breaking news, but rather an in-depth look at a subject.
Feature articles range from the news feature that provides sidebar background to a current event hard news
story, to a relatively timeless story that has natural human interest.
Features generally are longer than hard-news articles because the feature penetrates deeper into its subject,
expanding on the details rather than trying to concentrate on a few important key points.
In hard news stories, often referred to as inverted pyramid style, the reporter makes the point, sets the tone,
and frames the issue in the first paragraph or two. In a feature story, on the other hand, the writer has the time
and space to develop the theme, but sometimes postpones the main point until the end. The whole story does
not have to be encapsulated in the lead.

COMMON TYPES OF FEATURE STORIES
There are many kinds of feature stories. Here are some popular types:
Human Interest: The best-known kind of feature story is the human-interest story that discusses issues through
the experiences of another. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that
brings about interest, sympathy or motivation in the reader.
Profiles: A very common type of feature is the profile that reveals an individual's character and lifestyle. The
profile exposes different facets of the subject so readers will feel they know the person.
How-To: These articles help people learn by telling them how to do something. The writer learns about the
topic through education, experience, research or interviews with experts.
Historical Features: These features commemorate important dates in history or turning points in our social,
political and cultural development. They offer a useful juxtaposition of then and now. Historical features take
the reader back to revisit an event and issues surrounding it. A variation of is the date in history short feature,
which reminds people of significant events on a particular date.
Seasonal Themes: Stories about holidays and the change of seasons address matters at specific times of a year.
For instance, they cover life milestones, social, political and cultural cycles, and business cycles.
Behind the Scenes: Inside views of unusual occupations, issues, and events give readers a feeling of penetrating
the inner circle or being a mouse in a corner. Readers like feeling privy to unusual details and well kept secrets
about procedures or activities they might not ordinarily be exposed to or allowed to participate in.
Travelogue. These are accounts about the places visited and experiences encountered by a traveler.


WRITING THE BASIC PARTS OF A FEATURE STORY
A. TITLE
a. Creative
b. Concise
c. Induce Curiosity



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HOW TO WRITE FEATURE STORIES
Prepared by: Celine D. Reyes, MBA
B. LEAD
How to introduce feature stories?

a. Rhetorical Questions
Example:
Who says age is a hindrance to Education?
b. Startling Statement
Example:
Hindi kami Bato!

c. Narrative Opening
Example:
Mrs. Alicia Banal, a third-year evening student sends herself and her 13 children to school, acting as a
mother and a father all at the same time.

d. Quoted Marks
Example:
I learn while I earn. She smiled despite of the negative issues thrown to her outside and inside her
work in show business.

e. An old Maxim, an Aphorism or Salawikain
Example:
Trees, trees everywhere, but no fresh air to breathe

f. History or Background of the subject
Example:
Muslims throughout the world, including our Filipino Muslim brothers observe the holy month of
Ramadan starting Sept 17.

g. Problems to be discussed in the article or the facts to be established
Example:
There is an answer on the rising cost of vegetables: plant your own.

C. BODY
The body of a feature story follows three basic principles:
a. Unity
b. Coherence
c. Emphasis

D. CONCLUSION
Ending Feature Stories:

a. A summary of the whole story
Example:
Take it from the experts: Smoking is definitely harmful to health. Smoking makes you manly, but you may
not live long enough to be one.

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HOW TO WRITE FEATURE STORIES
Prepared by: Celine D. Reyes, MBA
b. An announcement of the Main Point for the first time
Example:
Therefore, a major part of the development communication effort should be directed at strengthening the
character of the people.

c. A question left in the readers mind
Example:
The hands of the new Filipino toil for the love of creation. They
Do you have these kinds of hands?

d. Suggested results or significance
Example:
Let us conserve our forests now if we want to save the future of our country and of our children.

e. A forecast or prophecy
Example:
In six and a half centuries from now, if the population explosion would not be checked, there would be one
person standing on every square foot of land on earth. By that time, people would be devouring one another for
there would no be more space for plants to grow.

f. A repetition of introduction
Example:
Asked if he had any formal training in photography Donato Arellano finally answered, Ah, it is now the
reverse. It is here where I enjoy while I earn, not I earn while I enjoy.

g. An appropriate quotation
Example:
Ana claims that she is poor. But when asked why she gave her last centavo to the old woman, she
answered:
Not what we give, but what we share
For the gift, without the giver is bare,
Who gives himself with his alms feeds three
Himself, his hungering neighbor and me.

QUALITIES OF GOOD FEATURE WRITER
1. Able to express himself well in writing
2. Creative
3. Has Keen Interest in Life
4. Realizes that in every event there could be a possible feature story.
5. Willing to probe for feature stories beneath the surface of everyday events
6. Intellectually curious and a keen Observer



Only an honest heart can write true words.