Should lengthy features be written with sub-headings?

Not hostile at all.
I don't see why expecting communication between writers and editors is considerd hostile.

This is a great place to get a lot of great advice about the business and the craft. But my first piece of advice on a thread like this is don't ask me what my preference is or what my paper's style is, ask your editor what he wants.

 

I guess I misinterpreted the bolds and caps. Anyway, this thread probably needs to be moved to Writers' Workshop. Oh, SMSU Scribe, I prefer bullets FWIW.

 

What spnited said. The more discussion between editors, the desk and reporters, the better.

As a rule, smsu scribe, I always have told reporters to go ahead and put a headline and/or subheds in their stories. They might not fit the space available, but you'd be surprised how many times the copy desk will use them.

Good luck with your feature story.

 

I'm the sports editor of a campus paper. I basically have the final call on this. Just striking up a little craft conversation. But I'm also going to probably submit the feature to the local daily that I part-time for. And I will be asking the editor about the subheds.

I've used subheds before in my stories, and I like how they seem to bring a piece together, and I've found my writing process to be more organized when I use them.

 

Yeah, see, that's what I thought here. It struck me as a question from a smaller (or school) paper that didn't really even have a style and was looking for some hints on one to have.

 

Definitely do something to break it up if you can. I think it makes longer stories more manageable for the reader.

I did one project a few years back in which we ended up going with pull quotes instead of subheads. Not something I would try every time, but it really worked well for that piece.

 

No subheds. Ever. It's a crutch. A cheap way out. Write a story, not vignettes.

If a desk wants to break it up, great.

But as a writer, write the damn transitions yourself.

 

Chapters. Yes.

 

Shocking, I tell you, that HissyfitHank advocates the easy way out.

 

Yeah, heaven forbid we give readers things they like.

 

My opinion is to write the story without subheads, using transitions to go back and forth, and then let the desk put in the subheads based off those transitions. Also means the desk is getting a good read in too.

 

I'm a subhead fan myself ... bullets, stars or whatever you use to separate portions of the story just seem lazy. Subheads can help give some emphasis to the story. Of course, YMMV.