He collects all his notes from his interviews and research, both typed and handwritten, and enters the best quotes, facts and figures into a Microsoft Word document. Unlike a news article, a feature can involve several attempts at a compelling first few sentences — known as the lede — and a lot of rewriting. “I’ve been known to fixate on a limb for much longer than I should,” he said.
Structurally, a news article is much simpler than a feature: in a news article, the most important and current information appears in the first few sentences, while the rest of the facts are generally presented in descending order of importance. In a feature film, on the other hand, the writer often delays revealing certain details in order to build suspense.
Landing on the vote
Another difference, Mr. Barnes said, is the voice he inserts — or doesn’t — in an article. A news article is usually devoid of personal taste while a feature may be saturated with it. He says he sometimes tries to “censor” his voice in a news article. In one feature there is room for more lyrical description; Mr. Barnes can dwell on how a subject dresses, talks and responds to his questions.
Working on edits
The editing process also differs. With functions it can involve a lot of fine-tuning: Leds can be discarded and paragraphs rewritten. With a news article, an editor acts more like a safety net than a pruning shears or polisher, making sure that deadline reporters don’t miss important information or pertinent questions, and that they don’t make obvious factual errors.
Enjoying both forms
The biggest challenge in writing a news article, according to Mr. Barnes, is achieving both speed and accuracy on the deadline. Features present another conundrum: A writer must carefully condense hours of interviews and research into a gripping yet accurate story that doesn’t get bogged down with superfluous information.
Although Mr. Barnes says he likes both forms, he has always had a clear preference.
“I’m a feature writer and somehow managed to not get fired as a corporate reporter for 20 years,” he said.
He added: “I like to enjoy words and try different things. I could tinker with a story forever.”
