HUMAN INTEREST AND FEATURE WRITING:Obtaining facts, Knowing how to write

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Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

LESSON 11

HUMAN INTEREST AND FEATURE WRITING

Human interest is hard to define. Most editors say stories about children, animals or human emotions

have automatic human-interest value. Consequently, a story about a little girl and her father combing the

city for their missing sibling has guaranteed reader appeal. So does a medical feature about a young

woman struggling to cope with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or one about a doctor at the

research hospital trying to find a cure for baldness?

Consequently, if you want to write a profile about a man who traps or frees birds for a living, you

probably have a sufficiently unusual story for broad reader appeal.

The talking bird story also has unusualness--assuming the little fellow really can muster up verbs and

nouns--as well as human interest and proximity.

Of course, you can write a feature without conflict, human interest, importance, prominence, proximity or

unusualness, but if your feature has none of these qualities, it is probably not going to be very interesting.

And dull features do not appeal to anyone except perhaps the subject of the article.

However, unusualness is extremely important to the feature writer. A university teacher who turns

junkman is, in fact, unusual. A junkyard owner who earns his doctor of philosophy degree and becomes a

university teacher is equally unusual. On the other hand, a male registered nurse is less unusual, and

probably is not worth a story. Verification is the key to deciding if a story is truly unusual.

A strong human interest feature does three things: (1) It describes an extraordinary experience; (2) it

shows how people have coped with a problem common to many people; and (3) it focuses on a timely

issue of wide regional or national concern.

A human-interest story may emphasise such news elements as relationships, drama, conflict, or oddity.

While the inverted-pyramid pattern of organisation is not common in this type of feature story, punch and

anecdotal leads can be used effectively.

Another type of features are those of human interest or human value. This is very popular source of

writing features. Such features can be written on ever-green subjects like health, family, equality between

men and women, industry, economics etc. Nowadays, many newspapers and magazines are full of

features on freedom of expression.

Understanding the human interest story

There must be something appealing to the emotions, not only of the writer but also of the readers as well.

This could be developed from a situation or an incident, but must be based on facts of timely nature.

A human-interest story entertains the reader more than informs, except for the fact that it is usually based

on facts of a timely nature. It has little news value and probably would not be published except for the

interesting style in which it is written. Hence, it entertains the reader more than it informs though it

influences a great deal, in certain cases.

It must be short and crispy, averaging between 75 to 200 words. However, it is not as such a strictly

defined parameter.

It can be written about almost anything from living to inanimate that is, persons, places, animals and

objects. However, it is more personal and intimate, than being objective. Hence, it is meant for enlivening

the news pages, both in make-up and content despite the fact that it is frequently based on generally

accepted truths that everyone knows what happens when young boy meets his parents after he has been

kidnapped, but people like to read about emotions.

It is not necessary that it must be a story of an ordinary man; rather he achieving an extra-ordinary feat is

better, while the extra-ordinary person cannot be erased from this list.

Obtaining facts

The feature writer must develop a habit observing keenly and of being intellectually curious. He must

learn to think of interesting little happenings, and registering them, both in his mind and notebook. He

must also recognise particular sources of human interest, that is, any unusual situation or incident, which

can touch emotions by arousing interest or sympathy.

Any major news event can have a human-interest angle.

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

Knowing how to write

Think before writing by outlining the order in which you will present the facts, and from where to start

and finish, may be closing either with a surprise or dialogue, as most of the human-interest stories follow

the regular pyramid order. However, it is advisable that following a narrative or chronological order is

better because most of the human interest stories follow this order, whereas some stories follow a

combination of the pyramid and narrative orders.

Now the question is:

How many angles could be made possible? The writer must determine the emotions to which he wishes to

appeal. As such stories are short, the writer must appeal to only one emotion.

The writer must try to present a story in original way to hold the readers' interest. Secondly, it must be

written for a particular reader, not for everyone and any one as it cannot be consumed and understood by

all.

Avoid presenting the story in the form of a condensed synopsis, as it will not let the reader become

involved in the situation. A reader must become part of the event if the story is to be really successful.

However, try to build the story on one full-length scene, by not using too many details, and must be

bringing up few characters. Also avoid summary, if possible!

The writer can use `Direct quotation', as the more familiar the quotation is, the more interesting it will be

for the reader.

The usage of a question, striking statement, verses or quotation, paradox, contrast, description and literary

or historical allusions (more familiar the allusion is, the more it will be interesting for the reader) can be

pretty useful in making the story interesting. Succinctly, novelty intros are the key to hold the readers'

interest. However, do not give away the point of the story too soon.

One must be following the lead or intro with concrete, actual and solid details. Try to include some

dialogue if possible as the story becomes more personal the readers will hear the persons speak, and the

story looks more interesting.

The writer must be building suspense if he can, but it must not be over done. He must avoid telling too

much of a story, and try to explain just enough of a point to suggest the rest to the readers, as they like to

associate their own experiences with what they read.

The writer must never try to moralise, as it is all up to the reader to give meanings to the story.

He must use devices of the fiction writer to hold readers' interest by using simple, specific, exact and

colourful words, and short sentences. Hence the generalisations must be avoided, as the stress is on

`individualise the typical'.

However, do not sentimentalise or over-write something, besides avoiding triteness, lack of clearness and

verbosity.

Re-writing the story

If there is a need to re-write the story, it must be done by eliminating the following writing faults:

1. Stodginess (Boring)

· No unfamiliar in the familiar

· No phrases that hit off the ideas in ways that are different

· Clichés, platitudes, standard verbal equipment

2. Verbosity (Using too many words where a few can do)

Too many verbal stimuli for the required effect, inducing weariness, tempting readers to skip

3. Circumlocution (An indirect way of saying something, especially unpleasant)

The stimulus always coming, never arriving; hence the reader is always uncertain, impatient and

irritated.

4. Lack of clearness (Clarity in communication)

· Involved phrases

Feature and Column Writing MCM 514

Long sentences

Ideas badly arranged

5. Lack of dramatic quality (Novelty)

· No luring quality

· No awakening of the readers' curiosity

6. Abstractness (Nothing concrete in words)

· No vivid pictures

· Slips of the mind

7. Absence of rhythm (Flow of expression)

· Nothing which carries on

· Jerky

· Disordered

· Clumsy

8. Monotony of rhythm (Triteness)

No variety

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