Feature writing is always a struggle to get from the general to the specific.
In this weekend workshop, we will study ways to sharpen our ears, our eyes and our minds, to improve our sense of what is happening around us. Then, we will look for patterns. Feature stories for newspapers and magazines must be true, but shaping them draws on many of the same structures and strategies as fiction. Using the model of a story conference, we will develop three ideas from each participant, working out specific game plans for researching, reporting and writing the stories. Our aims will be to develop a fresh, questioning approach, to find more meaning in the high and low events of life and to pass on our findings to others in novel and interesting ways.