Features has been defined as news that readers do not need to know but that they want to know. Taking a different perspective, author and professional journalist Abraham Aamidor defines features as "the news below the surface," and throughout this book he emphasizes that approach: the news that readers may not always recognize as such but that affects them just the same - the people, places, and things they need to know about although they may not yet realize it.

In preparing this text for use in journalism feature writing courses, he emphasizes the essentials of the feature writing process, examining story shape and structure. He illustrates distinct types of feature and nonfiction stories, all drawn from the real world, and includes the work of practicing journalists who write for leading newspapers.

Prepared for students with a basic journalism writing background or similar experience, as well as for freelance writers and professionals looking for practical guidance, Real Feature Writing is a lively and timely introduction to the development of interesting and effective feature stories.