FEATURE AND MAGAZINE WRITING

By David Sumner and Holly Miller. With lively writing, touches of humor, and a conversational tone, initial chapters cover finding original ideas, capturing readers’ attention, developing strong angles, creative research, interview skills, and strong writing skills (with emphasis on action-packed writing, strong beginnings, satisfying endings, colorful anecdotes, and solid structure). Additional chapters offer tips on covering various types of features: shorts, profiles, real-life dramas, how-to articles, calendar-content connections, news features, articles on trends and issues, business stories, and inspirational stories. Each chapter includes student activity suggestions. Grades 9 and up. Index. Source notes. Glossaries. Blackwell. Approximately 300 pages. Second Edition. ©2009.

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With clear writing and expertly crafted examples, this book goes beyond simply telling writers what to do and what not to do, but becomes a useful tool with its anecdotal evidence, challenging scenarios and actual sample writing how to become better feature writers.
—Tia C.M. Tyree, District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency

“Expertly packaged and sharply written, Sumner and Miller’s engaging text teaches not only basic elements of magazine writing, but also offers practical advice for today’s developing journalist. Everything from sentence structure to story-pitching advice is vividly explained, and the authors wisely include points of view from members of the contemporary working press. Also noteworthy is a wealth of information regarding the Internet, perhaps the most valuable and treacherous tool for tomorrow’s reporter.”
—David Abrahamson, Ph.D., Helen G. Brown Research Professor of Journalism, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University