3Writing features
The joy of feature writing lies in its variety. Anything from a celebrity interview to an agony column, a product round-up to an obit, can be called a feature. But because they are so varied features are hard to define. The safest guide is negative: they’re not news.
Not being news, they’re liberated from spare, functional prose. In place of the breathless messenger they can be entertaining gossips, perceptive analysts, eccentric experts, sympathetic counsellors, bitchy snoops, inspiring guides.
Because they’re so varied they’re harder to write. They build on what’s learnt as a news reporter and also demand that writers attract and hold the reader’s attention without the advantage of a simple pattern to follow. ...
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