Feature Article Writing
GUIDE TO NONFICTION COURSES
Feature Article Writing is a 10-week workshop, which includes lectures, exercises, and the critiquing of student projects. It’s for beginners or anyone who wants to brush up on the fundamentals. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
Feature articles are the story side of journalism—factual always, but formed into a compelling narrative about current events. Such articles can examine virtually any topic, from the latest news to the newest trends to profiles of interesting people. And they can even grow into narrative nonfiction books.
To succeed at features, you need a reporter’s eye for detail, a writer’s knack for hooking the reader, an insider’s understanding of news media—and the curiosity of a cat. Here you’ll learn about the various types of features and their special requirements, as well as how to market your work.
Whether you seek to write stories drawn from serious news or the lighter side of life, we’ll show you how to create articles that grab the attention of editors and writers.
If you have the slightest interest in learning about feature article writing, sign yourself up for this course.
Maria Sassian
research manager
Notes
Feature articles are fact-based journalistic pieces. Reporting—research and interviewing—is essential. If you wish to write nonfiction that is more literary or opinion-based, look at Memoir Writing, Essay & Opinion Writing, or Personal Essay Writing.
Upcoming Classes
Syllabus
This course gives you a firm grounding in the basics of writing feature articles, and gets you writing a feature article (or two). Course components:
Lectures
Writing exercises
Workshopping of student projects (each student presenting work two times)
New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.
Online classes
Week 1
Introduction to Feature Article Writing: Feature articles defined. You are not the story. Facts and fairness. Journalism today. Types of features. Ideas. Angles.
Week 2
Anatomy of a Feature Article: Structure—lead, nut graph, body, kicker, outlines. Narrative thread and theme. Moving parts—facts, quotes, people, scene. Point of view. Hed/dek.
Week 3
Reporting: Good reporting. Sources. Interviewing. Using quotes. Accuracy.
Week 4
The Process: Rundown on the process of writing a feature—idea, pitch, reporting, making sense of research, lead/nut graph, outline, quotes, writing.
Week 5
Profiles: Choosing a subject. Anatomy of a profile. Profile interviews. Capture a person.
Week 6
Description/Voice: Description techniques—sensory, specificity, creativity, the best words. An eye for details. What is voice? Publication voice. Voice of the lead. Finding your voice.
Week 7
Branching Out: Hard news. Roundups. Service articles.
Week 8
Tricks of the Trade: A collection of insider advice: The Human Factor. Suspense. Writing tight. Transitions. Attribution with quotes. Something special.
Week 9
Pitching: Selling articles. The publication landscape. Homing in. Query letters. Sending out/hearing back.
Week 10
The Working Journalist: Working with an editor. Building a career—money, relationships, self-promotion, blogs. Finding your specialty and specialized talents.
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
Related Courses
Essay & Opinion Writing I
Various types of viewpoint writing—essays, op-eds, reviews, and more.
Creative Nonfiction 101
A great entry point for the creative forms of nonfiction—memoir, essay, feature articles, reviews, etc.
Personal Essay Writing
The writer’s view on a topic, interlaced with experiences from the writer’s life.