Basics of Feature Writing Basic Feature Story structure

Basics of Feature Writing • Basic Feature Story structure: the Kabob • Anecdote, Quote, Meat, Kicker (good ending); the “Wall Street Journal” • Feature leads: • Anecdotal lead – uses a mini-story to start • Scene Setter lead – uses a representative scene of the story • Nut graf – after scene is set, you need to tell what the story is about

Sample Feature • Small Bookstores Struggle for Niche in Shifting Times • • By JULIE BOSMAN, New York Times (LEAD) ARLINGTON, Va. — Get on Twitter. Add a wine bar. Do as one bookstore owner did and rent out space for birthday parties. (Background) Or, as a veteran store owner from Kansas tartly suggested, just sell books. (NUT GRAF) More than 500 independent booksellers debated their next step last week at the Winter Institute, the annual jamboree that is also attended by publishers who go to mingle with their customers and promote their most promising coming titles. (MORE DETAIL)But this event belongs to independents, whose surviving members withstood first the expansion of the big book chains, and later the recession. Lately, they have watched as former powerhouses like Borders have faltered, while wondering what the troubles of their old adversary mean for them. (QUOTE) “We know that in the world of physical bookselling, bigness is no longer viewed as an asset, ” said Mitchell Kaplan, owner of Books & Books, which has independent stores in South Florida, Westhampton Beach and the Cayman Islands. “It’s about selection and service and ambiance. Now we’re finding a situation where the marketplace is getting back to reality. ” (BODY) Not everyone here was so confident. While the number of independent bookstores has stabilized after years of decline, according to membership in their national trade association, the stores are still fighting some of the same forces that caused their ranks to diminish years ago. Amazon still rules online bookselling, while Barnes & Noble, the biggest of the book chains, is retooling itself for the digital age.