Boxes and arrows
Hybrid story forms go beyond news and features
“When you have news, report it,” advises Roy Peter Clark, Poynter Institute senior scholar. “When you have a story, tell it.”
But what if you have both?
Some stories don’t fit into the traditional boxes and triangles of the inverted pyramid news structure or the feature-style story structure. That’s where hybrid story structures come in.
Feature-news release hybrid
I’ve noticed one new structure in press releases recently. It has a feature head and an inverted pyramid tail. The beauty of this beast is that it brings the story to life at the top with a feature lead, nut graph and background section. Then, once it’s attracted the reader’s attention and established the story, it delivers the details in a hierarchical, most-important-to-least-important body.
Use it when you have a story that would benefit from a feature lead but that needs a just-the-facts-ma’am resolution.
DRIVE A HYBRID When the inverted pyramid's not enough, try this news-feature release structure.
Build a solid structure
Want to master a story structure that increases readership instead of cutting it short?
- Get it off your desk: Bring Ann’s team in to write compelling copy.
- Polish staff skills: Bring Ann to your organization for a “Go Beyond the Inverted Pyramid” workshop.
- Boost your own abilities: Work with Ann on developing the feature-style story structure in one-on-one writing coaching. Or find out about Ann’s next “Beyond the Inverted Pyramid” teleseminar.
- Join the club: Get dozens of tipsheets on the feature-style story structure at RevUpReadership.com.
- Learn more: Get free writing tips every month when you subscribe to our e-zine.
About Ann Wylie
Ann Wylie is president of Wylie Communications Inc., a training, writing and consulting firm. She works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. Wylie is the author of RevUpReadership.com, a toolbox for writers, and Wylie’s Writing Tips, a free e-zine. She has earned more than 60 awards, including two IABC Gold Quills, for her work.
Copyright © 2011 Ann Wylie. All rights reserved.
