FEATURE WRITING:

Humanizing the Story

 by Ben G. Domingo Jr.

 Chairperson
 Technical Committee for Journalism
 Commission on Higher Education
INTRODUCTION
A. Newspaper’s heart, emotional core and humanizing
element

B. Factual and verifiable, not fiction

C. Creative in style and presentation, but never in the

materials/information used

D. Learned early in school [in Grades 3 or 4]

E. Timeless in appreciation
ELEMENTS
A. Human Interest
B. Timelessness / Non-perishability
C. Atmosphere and Mood
D. Entertaining Nature
E. Creativity
F. Informativeness
G. Communicability
H. Empathy
I. Objectivity
TYPES
A. News Features / Soft/Featurized News
1. Humanized lead
2. Backgrounders
3. Sidebars
4. In-depth materials
5. Trends and patterns
B. Personality / Activity / Project Sketches
C. Tourism / Travel / Vacation Stories
D. Historical / Highlights / Sidelights
TYPES
E. Seasonal / Holiday stories
F. First person accounts
G. How-to-articles
H. Heart-tuggers
I. Anecdotes
J. Reviews
K. Diaries
L. Trivia
STORY MECHANICS
A. Content
1. Anything and everything
2. Facts, not fiction
3. Matters close to the heart
STORY MECHANICS
B. Purpose
1. To inform
2. To explain
3. To clarify
4. To motivate
5. To convince/persuade
6. To mobilize
7. To amuse/entertain
STORY MECHANICS
C. Form/Structure
1. Title
2a. Upright triangle
i. specific to general
ii. information to conclusion
iii. details to summary
iv. elaboration to central theme
2b. Hour glass / Seriffed ‘I’
i. catchy opening statement
ii. informative and engaging body
iii. impactful final statement
3. Clustering
STORY MECHANICS
D. Language
1. Free-flowing
2. From informal to semi-formal
3. Tolerance for figures of speech and
idiomatic expressions
E. Style
1. Open
2. From light to heavy
3. From personal to popular
4. Reader-friendly
5. Logically-organized
PARTS
A. Title
B. Lead / Introduction / Opening Statement
Hook / Nut Graph
C. Body or Details
D. Closing / Final Statement
E. Presentation Thread
OPENING STATEMENTS
A. Central Thought
B. Question
C. Quotation
D. Narration
E. Description
F. Analysis
G. Atmosphere
H. Sequence
I. Chronology
J. Direct Address
K. Comparison and Contrast
L. Witty Lines
M. Literary Allusion
N. Punch
O. Staccato
BODY PRESENTATION
A. Narrative
B. Descriptive
C. Chronological
D. Sequential
E. Functional
F. Comparison and Contrast
G. Suspended Interest
H. Flashback
I. Others
BODY INGREDIENTS
A. Facts
1. People
2. Places
3. Events/Incidents
4. Situations
B. Descriptions
1. Facts, not modifiers
2. Specific, not estimates
C. Quotes
1. Newsworthiness
2. Contextualization
FINAL STATEMENT
A. Climax
B. Conclusion
C. Revelation
D. Stinger
E. Summary / Recap
F. Un-ending Ending
Some DOs and DON’Ts
A. Do: Show, don’t just tell.
B. Do: People your story, and let them breathe.
C. Do: Be factual, but provide color.
D. Do: Temper your modifiers.
E. Don’t editorialize.
F. Don’t moralize.
G. Don’t use flowery language.
Workshop Instructions
A. Write a feature story on the topic […].
B. Required length:
C – minimum of ten [10] paragraphs
HS – minimum of eight [8] paragraphs
ES – minimum of eight [5] paragraphs
C. Time allotted for writing: one [1] hour