How to Write Feature Articles

If you're interested in making a living as a freelance writer, you may find yourself wondering how to write feature articles. While it's true freelancers work on a variety of projects, writing feature articles is a fairly large market for professional writers.

Feature articles can be a lucrative market for freelance writers.

In the journalism field, articles are generally either classified as news stories or feature stories.

News stories give you the important facts of an event. They answer these questions:

• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• How

Feature stories may also give you the facts about an event, but they help to interpret the news or add depth and dimension to the reader's understanding of the issues surrounding a particular event.

Common types of feature stories include:

• Interviews with someone who has an interesting story to tell
• Personality profiles to give a complete picture of a person
• Human interest stories, such as looking at the career of longtime schoolteachers within an elementary school
• Informational features, such as articles on history of an event or how-to redecorate your home on a budget

Newspapers, both large and small, represent one of the largest markets those who want to learn how to write feature articles. Staff reporters at smaller papers tend to be kept busy trying to write all of the news stories a daily publication needs, so many editors will be very receptive to working with freelancers.

Magazines publish feature articles as well. While it's unlikely you may get to see your feature story published in Redbook or Woman's Day on your first try, there are a number of smaller magazines that rely on freelancers for a large portion of their content. Pick up a copy of the Writer's Market, study back issues of publications that interest you, and prepare a pitch for the stories you'd like to write.

Online markets, while generally not as well paying as print publications, also publish a fair amount of feature articles and tend to be much more receptive to working with novice freelance writers. However, they tend to prefer stories that have more of a timeless element. Information online is available forever, so the best stories are those that will still be interesting five or ten years in the future.

To learn more about finding markets for your freelance writing, please review our articles on Job Listings for Writers, Jobs for Journalists, and Freelance Job Opportunities in Online Web Writing.

Learning how to write feature articles takes practice, but it will be easier to master this important skill if you simply keep in mind a few basic tips.

• Before you begin, define the purpose for your article. While the sole purpose of a straight news story is to inform, a feature story can persuade, observe, evaluate, or evoke emotion.
• Use anecdotes and direct quotes to tell the story instead of simply stating what is happening.
• Write in present tense and use active voice.
• Interview the most qualified experts you can find for your stories and try to use at least two sources for your article. Additionally, remember that it's a good idea to check your source's credentials on your own. Most people won't lie about their background, but you don't want to risk being embarrassed by someone's dishonesty.
• Don't forget that accuracy still counts. Feature writers often employ many of the same techniques as fiction writers when creating their pieces, but you should never forget that feature writing qualifies as nonfiction writing. Names, dates, places, and all important factual details must be correct before you submit your piece for publication.

If you're considering making feature articles a main focus of your freelance writing business, you may want to review the following reference books for writers:

• Writing Feature Stories: How to Research and Write Newspaper and Magazine Articles by Matthew Ricketson
• The Art and Craft of Feature Writing: Based on The Wall Street Journal Guide by William E. Blundell
• Write to Publish: Writing Feature Articles for Magazines, Newspapers, and Corporate and Community Publications by Vin Maskell

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