The Art of Telling Stories Feature Writing The Art of Telling Stories

Related terms A sidebar accompanies a hard news story and is written in a feature style. A followup runs a day or more after the main news story and reports on results of earlier developments. A nutgraph (also spelled nutgraf) is the paragraph that explains, in a nutshell, the point of a story. Not all features have a nutgraph.

Story Format: Features As you can see, the basic structure of a feature article is the lead, the body and the kicker. Although each element will be discussed further down this page, it is important to remember that each element (fact, quote, anecdote and transitory paragraphs) will all relate to your central theme in some way.

You will typically put your lead as your first paragraph, and your statement of theme (or what your article is about) in the second paragraph. Your last papragraph will be your kicker. In between will be your facts, quotes and anecdotes all of which will relate to your theme...

You are going to need facts for your feature that invariably means doing some research. Facts support and enhance your writing as well as contextualising your topic.

Types of Leads Narrative - tells a story Descriptive - describes a scene, person or subject Direct Quote – must be used with narrative Startling statement Contrast and Compare (then and now) Twist

Surprise Lead This lead includes an element of surprise: New, compelling evidence shows that cutting saturated fats may actually hurt heart health rather than protect it.

Contrast Lead This type of lead makes a point by opening with differences or opposites: Crash dieters achieve a rapid, yet fleeting change; while Paleo dieters get a quick, lasting change with increased health and energy.

Question Lead Have you been looking for a nutrition plan that’s both easy to implement and provides rapid, lasting results?