Writing Feature Articles - Brendan Hennessy

The book Writing Feature Articles by Brendan Hennessey is a good very good basic guide to becoming a writer of feature articles. Writing feature articles is easy. You just sit and type until your eyes bleed! Well, at least, that's how it feels, sometimes.

But Writing Feature Articles (a practical guide to methods and markets) can go a long way towards removing at least some of the pain form the process of writing feature articles. ...
...and the audience identified, the writing will follow and will adapt."

The book talks about the various markets that you might consider writing for, how to identify a suitable market, how to research articles and how to ensure that you have a readymade supply of information for whatever article you might be commissioned to write or might like to write speculatively, that is to say, without having been asked to rite the article ... more

The book Writing Feature Articles by Brendan Hennessey is a good very good basic guide to becoming a writer of feature articles. Writing feature articles is easy. You just sit and type until your eyes bleed! Well, at least, that's how it feels, sometimes.

But Writing Feature Articles (a practical guide to methods and markets) can go a long way towards removing at least some of the pain form the process of writing feature articles.

The book is broken down into 20 highly readable and eminently logical sections. Following a very sensible preface, in which Brendan Hennessey offers more sage wisdom and advice than are contained in the entirety of some other books pretending to offer advice on becoming a writer.

Brendan Hennessey writes: "Too much advice given in books on writing, while appearing practical, is actually vague when you try to apply it to specific purposes."

He also points out a truth unpalatable to far too many teachers of writing: "Markets come before methods… The professional writer knows that the priorities are content (having something to say) and audience. Once the content is understood and shaped, and the audience identified, the writing will follow and will adapt."

The book talks about the various markets that you might consider writing for, how to identify a suitable market, how to research articles and how to ensure that you have a readymade supply of information for whatever article you might be commissioned to write or might like to write speculatively, that is to say, without having been asked to rite the article in the first place.

The book also looks at the different types of writing styles that exist and how you might be able to adapt and modify your own writing style to fit in with the different audiences that you might wish to write for.

It also offers advice on how you should undertake your research, hw you should store information and how you should approach editors with ideas for articles. Most professional freelance journalists and writers do not merely write an article without being asked. Brendan Hennessey explains why this is a good practice to follow.

The book gives cogent advice on how to interview people for articles, and how to ensure that, as far as possible, your writing fits into the house style of the various publications you might wish to write for. It offers advice on how to build up a good list of contacts.

As well as telling you how it should be done, Brendan Hennessey shows you it should be done, with examples. For instance in the section Looking at Structure, he reprints and article on a woman of 76 who had been a pickpocket for almost all of her life and who had met the convicted murderer, Ruth Ellis whilst in prison. He explains how to analyse the article, and how to structure your own writing.

It would be tedious to go through the details of all 20 sections (from 1 which describes how to get started and develop skills to 20. which gives some insight into the future of writing. It also contains a useful appendix of information, contacts, etc., with some vry useful codes of practice, guides to copyright, etc.

The book has just been released in a much expanded version taking into account the many changes since the last edition was published. It costs £19.99 from Amazon.
 

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