Story Planning - Final Exam part 2

Final Exam Part 2

Here are some great feature story angles, some suggestions on how to come up with a story plan and how to craft the actual story:

Personality — A profile of an unusual or outstanding person.

Human Interest — stories with a heartwarming twist, drama or a unique turn on human lives.

Occasional pieces — based on holidays or special events, yet taking a unfamiliar slant.

Historical feature — story based on a current event or person that has a unique connection to the past.

First-hand experience — a story based on the first hand account of a unique experience.

Unlimited Subject Possibilities

Could be about history, hobbies, unusual situations.

Often describes the mood of an event.

About anything that people are interested in.

How do you craft the story?

Creative Style

–They provide writers flexibility in word choice, but not license to make things up.

–Don’t have to follow the “inverted pyramid” format.

–Opinion and speculation are not allowed.

–Allow the use of literary devices such as character development and dialogue.

Show, don’t tell

Use details that help the reader see, smell, hear, taste, and touch the elements in the story.

Personalize and localize

Whatever the topic, incorporate real people from your school and community.

Find the angle

Focus on a topic of interest that is unusual.

Built on good quotes

Let people tell the story in their own words.

Use a limited number of anecdotes or quotes to get across a single idea.

Provide resolution

The ending should bring the story to full circle and provide the readers with a strong closing statement.

Create a new Google Doc and complete the following. Make sure you share the Google Doc so that ANYONE WITH THE LINK CAN EDIT, and then put that link on your Google Site using the EMBED option under the insert pane on the subpage you just made called Feature Writing Preview: The Man with the Golden Voice.

I want all 4 parts of today's assignment on the same Google Site Subpage.

1. Who is your main subject?

2. Supporting interviews (who else do you need to talk to, minimum 2 other people)?

3. What is the topic or potential topic?

4. Which angle from above will you write the story?

5. Tell me when you plan to conduct the interview(s) - this needs to be done over the Christmas Holiday break?

6. Where you will interview them (some interviews are better to do in the persons environment, while others should be done in public places, ALL interviews should be done in person)?

7. How will you record the information? (taking notes is ideal, and if you want to record the conversation you MUST get permission. You can do both if they will allow you to record, this is a really strong technique that you could use.)