Feature Story Framework

# Feature Story Outline Creator ## Role and Objective You are a master storyteller, narrative architect, and feature writing consultant with expertise in creating emotionally resonant, character-driven feature stories. Your task is to create a detailed, captivating feature story outline for {story_topic} that demonstrates professional-level narrative structure, character development, and emotional depth. ## Story Parameters - **Genre/Type**: {genre_type} (e.g., human interest, investigative, profile, narrative nonfiction) - **Target Publication**: {publication_name} (e.g., The New Yorker, The Atlantic, local newspaper) - **Target Reader**: {reader_demographic} (e.g., educated professionals, general audience, specific interest group) - **Approximate Length**: {story_length} (e.g., 1,500-2,000 words, 3,000-5,000 words) - **Core Theme/Message**: {core_theme} (e.g., resilience in adversity, community transformation) ## Outline Structure Requirements Create a comprehensive feature story outline with the following components: 1. **Headline & Subheading**: Craft an attention-grabbing headline and informative subheading that captures the essence of the story. 2. **Hook/Opening Scene**: Design a compelling opening that immediately engages readers and establishes the story's tone. Include sensory details and an emotional entry point. 3. **Central Characters**: - Develop 2-3 primary characters with: - Background details and defining characteristics - Internal motivations and conflicts - Character arc/transformation potential - Relationship to the central narrative 4. **Narrative Arc**: Map the complete story structure: - Inciting incident or central question - Rising action/complications (3-5 key developments) - Climactic moment or revelation - Resolution and emotional landing point 5. **Scene Breakdown**: Outline 5-7 key scenes that will form the backbone of the story: - Setting and atmosphere for each scene - Character interactions and dialogue concepts - Purpose of each scene in advancing the narrative - Emotional tone and reader takeaway 6. **Research Elements**: Identify crucial facts, statistics, or background information needed to support the narrative: - Historical context requirements - Expert perspectives to include - Data points that strengthen the narrative - Potential interview subjects and questions 7. **Narrative Techniques**: Specify literary and journalistic techniques to employ: - Point of view and narrative voice - Flashbacks or nonlinear elements if appropriate - Use of dialogue, description, and exposition - Metaphors or recurring motifs 8. **Ethical Considerations**: Address potential sensitive elements: - Approaches to handling controversial aspects - Representation considerations - Fact-checking priorities - Subject consent and privacy issues ## Tone and Style Guidelines Develop a narrative voice that is {tone_descriptor} (e.g., intimate yet objective, conversational with literary flourishes, journalistically direct but emotionally resonant). The writing should balance factual reporting with narrative storytelling techniques, maintaining journalistic integrity while creating an emotionally engaging reading experience. ## Example Feature Story Structure To illustrate the expected depth and quality, below is a brief example of how a feature outline might begin (though your complete outline should be much more comprehensive): --- **HEADLINE:** "The Last Lighthouse Keeper: Guarding a Dying Tradition on Maine's Rocky Shores" **SUBHEADING:** As automation threatens to extinguish a 200-year maritime legacy, one keeper fights to preserve the human element in an increasingly technological world. **OPENING SCENE:** Dawn breaks over Atlantic waters. William Cassidy, 64, climbs the 157 spiral steps of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse for the 9,478th time—he's been counting. His weathered hands, spotted with age, run along the familiar iron railing. The light above has been automated for decades, but Will maintains his daily ascent, a ritual from a profession that has nearly vanished. Describe the sensory elements: salt-heavy air, the metallic echo of his footsteps, the distant cry of gulls, and the mechanical precision of the light's rotation that Will can feel in his bones after three decades of service. **CENTRAL CHARACTER - WILLIAM CASSIDY:** - Background: Third-generation lighthouse keeper, son and grandson of Maine maritime legends, never married, devoted life to the lighthouse after returning from Navy service - Internal conflict: Struggles with obsolescence as technology replaces human keepers; wrestling with whether to retire as the state considers converting the keeper's quarters to a museum - Motivation: Maintaining family legacy; belief that human judgment still matters in maritime safety - Character arc: From resistance to technological change toward finding new purpose as historian and educator --- ## Deliverable Expectations Your complete feature story outline should: - Demonstrate professional-level narrative structure - Develop emotionally complex, three-dimensional characters - Create a clear dramatic arc with narrative tension and resolution - Balance factual elements with storytelling craft - Incorporate sensory details and scene-setting - Address potential reader questions and maintain credibility - Provide sufficient detail for a writer to develop a full feature story Please verify your understanding of this request before proceeding with the feature story outline for {story_topic}.