Best feature stories

This weekend I'm doing a workshop with some college kids on how to write feature stories. I need to bring one feature story (doesn't have to be sports) written by someone other than me as an example of strong feature writing.

I've got a few ideas as to what I might take. But I thought I'd see what ideas you guys might have. I'm looking for a feature that a college student could use as a platform for his or her own writing. So if it took 6 months of research to write, that's probably not a good fit.

For no real reason, I'll probably take something fairly new, as in the last few years.

thanks!

 

Find Gary Smith and S.L. Price's work in the SI archives. Print. Hand out.

Done.

 

Two WaPo stories. The first won an APSE for feature writing, the second will.
Dave Sheinin's takeout detailing Josh Hamilton's comeback from hell.
Eric Prisbell's draft advance on John Wall's tumultuous life.

 

Well, these responses helped reassure me that my original ideas were good ones already.

My thoughts were the Wall piece by Prisbell, or something by Sheinin. Thanks for the Hamilton idea. I had forgotten that one. And I hadn't seen the newest Strasburg story yet. But everything Sheinin has done on Strasburg so far has been superb, so I'm sure I'll like this one, too.

thanks for tips.

 

The biggest key to writing good features is to dig and report. Anyone can write a bland feature about a person, place or thing, but you have to really dig or look at something from a different angle to make it special.

Too often people think they can take a couple quotes, sprinkle in a few observations and garnish with facts and whip up great a feature story. And it flops.

Report it. Find something unique.

 

you have to push the story forward. sometimes it's an inch, sometimes it's a mile. but work to make it new.

 

Couple books I would recommend:

-- Pulitzer Prize-winning feature anthology

-- Jon Franklin's book on feature writing

-- James B. Stewart's "Writing for Story"

Actually, you can get most of those Pulitzer winners on the Pulitzer Web site. Just print up a recent one.

 

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention my girl Ann Hull, the most talented writer I've ever had the pleasure of, well, I'd say editing, except my contributions to her work were so minimal it's embarrassing. Read her Josh Hamilton story ... before the fall.
Nobody writes the details, paints a prettier picture than Ann.
She is a Hall of Famer.

 

Of course I love Smith and Price and Sheinin.
But, I think the best feature writer going right now is Wright Thompson.
Seach "eticket" and "thompson" and lose a several hours of your life and be better for it.
This one in particular: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=091216/JimmyRobinson

 

Hmm. This is strange. I just got an email from the editor of my college newspaper informing me of a feature writing workshop on Saturday at noon. Judging by your handle, I'm thinking its the same one.

So, Hoos3725, I'll see you there. I'm the 6'8" kid.