Should lengthy features be written with sub-headings?

See, this is what Jon Franklin says in his book, and I've never agreed with it. But if you're writing narrative and, theoretically, thinking cinematically, doesn't this go hand in hand? Movies and television shows don't flow from one scene to the next naturally. We don't have to watch Don Draper on the train all the way from Sterling Cooper to his dining room table. Is Matt Weiner using a "crutch"? Why any different for journalists?

 

Because we all know that the desk won't give the story a good read if the writer doesn't set up a series of challenges for the desk to complete. Maybe you should include a secret code in the story, so that you know the desk is doing its job.

Or maybe, just maybe, if you want subheads, you should put them in yourself, rather than foisting off your decisions on the desk.

 

take that lengthy feature and chop it into a quick summary with some attitude, a nuggety notebook, and a top five list.