What's too long for a good feature

I just did 1,500 on a basketball player of the year -- usually standard for me when it comes to profile pieces. But I agree with Double Down. I can only judge a story's needed length after reading it and/or hearing the writer's defense for said size.

 

Sorry I ditched after the post ... back-to-back games and i needed a breather from the story.

Diabetes is a lot more complicated than many know. Part of the story was how the kid has to deal with the everyday misconceptions of the disease. He opened up to be amazingly; i was asking his parents abotu stuff he told me and they were shocked because he had never told them.

It took me about 90 minutes to lay out - after doing the photos, graphics and boxes. We're a weekly, so I talked my way into taking five pages in our 8-page section, which might not sound like a lot, but I;ve only got two schools going into the paper.

I had a couple people around the shop read the piece and they all said it reads shorter than it is. I'm still so-so with it because there are some great anecdotes I didn't include because they had no place in the story; they were just cool stories I think people could relate to.

And as for diabetic athletes, he's the only one in our coverage area, which is, for the most part, half the state.
But we're little.

 

If Diabeetus warrants a 2,400-word story, what the hell are you planning for BYH?

Okay, time for me to put on the asshole hat ...



.. and here we go:

Here's the deal: if you think you're a "writer with a capital W," you're in the wrong business. Yes, sportswriters write; it's in the job title and everything. But you're a reporter first. You don't use reporting as the vehicle to allow you to write (as someone posted here a few months ago), you write to get the reporting across. Obviously, the better you write, the better your reporting is going to read. And certainly there's brilliant writers out there at newspapers. But your priority is skewed if you think your job is to write, as opposed to report.

And while I understand not liking word limits, if you're a good reporter, you'll make it work. Hell, if you're a good writer, you'll make it work -- from the middle school soccer reporter to John Feinstein, everyone has to deal with space limits.

 

Depends on subject.If it is compelling and doesn't drag? Then fine. If your paper allows don't worry about word count.

If this is a feature with break out boxes, then it is going to take time to layout. That allows for some negotiation.

I have written a couple of 2000 word features and profiles that size. That's about it though.

Anyone who says it's too long without reading it has no imagination. I have to read it first to be honest. 2400 words is ok as long as it's good.

Diabetes is fairly common.I hope there is an even more compelling story or history here.

I like feature stories between 900-1100 words normally.

I should tell you about the 1500 word basketball championship preview I had to edit...OOPS wrong thread.

 

We're on the same page here, right?

 

I am constantly battling for more space and I've learned a few things about what works and what doesn't. In the past, here is what has worked for me:

1) Alert your editor as soon as possible. Never turn in a 60 inch story that's budgeted for 40. Never turn in a 20 inch story that's budgeted for 12. The more you hit your budget length, the better your odds that they will work with you when you really need the real estate. Pick your spots.

2) Obviously, sometimes a story becomes more interesting and develops more layers as it unfolds. Never stop reporting because you feel like you have too much or that you "only have 18-20 inches." You're a trained storyteller. Trust your instincts. Drop your editor an email or talk to him about what you're thinking. When you sit down and write, don't worry about length. Tell the story. Don't edit yourself. Just get it all down.

(Note to editors: If your reporter is excited about a story, the worst thing you can do is slap a length on him or her before reading one word. Nothing infuriates a reporter more. Yes, we live in a world of space restrictions, but we publish 365 days a year. At some point, we can devote the space, time and energy to tell a few good stories.)

3) Once you're finished writing, if there's time, get away from it. Try not to think about it. When you're ready, print it out. Read your story. Get a Hi-lighter. Read it again. Highlight everything you absolutely cannot live without. Your favorite lines, quotes, anecdotes, transitions, details, etc. When you're finished, examine what's not highlighted. That's where you start cutting.

4) Make changes. Print it out and read it again. See if your mind wanders during any part of the story of if you catch yourself skimming certain passages. If so, consider shortening or eliminating them.

5) By this time, your story should contain the best of your reporting and writing. That's the best you can do. Put your editor into a position where he or she hesitates to delete a single word. If he or she proposes cutting a certain part, tell them why you disagree, but pick your spots. Bargain with them. "If we can keep that, I'll shorten this."

6) Don't forget the web. Sometimes because of news value, stories have to run on days when there's simply no space. You wrote 80 inches. You get 40. If you still feel strongly about it, there's nothing wrong with asking if the longer version can run on your Web-site.

If anyone else has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

 

Excellent post right there...I wish my editor had done this

 

Very good advice. The part about alerting your editor ASAP is particularly true. Nothing frustrates the desk more than when you spring a story that's 20 inches above the allotted space the day it's running. I've had some writers who did that and told us, "Just cut it if it's long," thinking that makes it ok. It doesn't. The fact is, good desk people know a good story when they see it, and they don't want to slash it any more than the write does. But when they get no advanced warning, they are left with little choice but to slash 20 inches from it, or shortchange it in terms of presentation because they simply don't have the space to accommodate it. It's easy for a writer to ask why can't you make space for a good story, but that's a little bit of tunnel vision. Why should stories by other writers on staff get slashed/held because you busted your assigned length and didn't tell anyone about it?

To me, whether a story is "too long" does depend partly on its quality and subject. However, a good story should also be one that doesn't seriously damage the quality of the rest of the section by its sheer bulk. Good writers know that they need to do more than just filing the story and letting the desk handle the rest. It's about communicating with the desk early and often, especially on enterprise/feature stories. If it's a good story, the desk wants to know about it early so they can prepare for it in terms of space, design, and any possible Web content. If space is really tight, would this story be better served if you broke it up over a couple days? What about breaking out a secondary branch of the story onto the Web? Those kinds of decisions are best made in advance, not on the day of publication.