Spot features are just what they sound like - feature stories written on a spot-news, or breaking-news deadline. Spot features often involve coverage of happenings that aren't big news and, as such, don't really warrant a hard-news lede. Examples could include small-time athletic events, lectures, community forums and debates.
The challenge in writing a spot feature is to incorporate the creativity of feature writing on a tight deadline. Here are some tips for doing spot features.
Input the B Copy Ahead of Time
Always have B copy, or background copy, prepared in advance of the event you're covering. Let's say you're covering a lecture by a visiting scholar. Write up some B copy that includes the person's background and the subject they are speaking on. The B copy will make up the bottom part of your story, which you'll top off with the new information taken from the lecture itself. B copy is a real time-saver.
Find Your Lede
The toughest part of writing any story is in finding the lede. So when doing a deadline feature story try to develop a lede in your head even before the event you're covering starts. You can base the lede on the research you've done FOR the B copy.
Note: If the event turns out to be very different from what you expected, don't be afraid to throw out your pre-planned lede and go with something different. Planning can save time, but flexibility is required in covering the news.
Write As You Go
This is self-explanatory. Instead of waiting for the event to end before you write, start writing while the event is still going on. This is easy if you have a laptop, but even if you're equipped with pen and paper, you can start to write out your story in longhand before getting to your computer,
Don't Write Chronologically
Beginning reporters often making the mistake of covering spot features like a stenographer, typing out everything that happens in exactly the order that it occurs. The problem with this method is that you're bound to bury your lede and produce a really boring article.
Repeat after me: FORGET CHRONOLOGY. Look at the event you're covering as raw material to be shaped into a coherent work, just as a sculptor shapes an unformed piece of clay into a work of art. Put the most interesting material at the top of your story, the less interesting stuff lower down, and leave the boring stuff out.
