Two for One! How Good Writers Approach Features and Steve Lopez

First things first, the "I" was filed off of typewriters in Murray's old office, but we already knew that. This, of course, would make things difficult if the same thing were done in Illinois; or Iowa, for that matter. In all actuality, it would make a lot of things difficult, especially if a nice, old lady by the name of Irma Idlewild was being interviewed.

In all seriousness, the use of first person must be used carefully. It doesn't work for hard news stories, for obvious reasons. But it can be effective in feature stories. When I think of first person being used in feature writing (which is pretty much all the time), I typically think of Rolling Stone. Many stories in that magazine contain the first person, which gives the reader the idea that they are there during the interview.

Moving on to Steve Lopez (not to be confused with George), in a story found here, Lopez uses many of the narrative techniques that Murray describes. The top three that he uses in this story, in my opinion, are character, dramatic action and scene.

The first, character, is very prevalent in this story. Lopez makes sure that we know each of the players in this column before any action takes place:

"Ten-year-old Danny White, red-haired and freckled, was riding his skateboard while his mother walked a friend's dog.

"Ron Dobson was on the corner after a day of revisions on a screenplay, enjoying the feel of the afternoon sun on his face, eyes closed and head tilted back.

"Myra Crowe was on her way to a ballet class for one of her three kids, all of whom were in her Honda Pilot as she headed out of her town house driveway and onto Palisades Circle at the very moment Danny approached."

Character gives way to dramatic action. When reading this story, I couldn't help but see it play in my mind as if it were a major motion picture starring that creepy kid from The Omen. I believe that if a reporter can pull this off, then he's done his job effectively.

"The car wasn't going very fast as it approached the intersection, but Dobson wondered how long Danny could hold on. It was like a scene out of a movie -- this young child pulling off what looked like an impossible stunt, using all his strength to hold his head up off the pavement. If he let go, Dobson thought, he could be crushed by the low undercarriage, or be thrown under the wheels."

The final technique that Lopez uses, scene, ties everything together in a nice, shiny bow. We see how these people interact with one another.

"Dobson broke out running up the street, headed straight toward the moving car with his hands up.

"'Stop!' he yelled, and Crowe had no choice but to hit the brakes.

"When the car came to a halt, Danny crawled out, darted clear of the car and ran a short distance. Dobson went after him, fearing he was badly injured and didn't even know it. He had been dragged roughly 80 feet.

"Carole White came running down the street, heart racing. Danny, a fifth-grader at Marquez Charter Elementary, looked bewildered but OK.

"Crowe was climbing out of her car, shaken, but still not sure what had happened.

"'Lady, you were dragging a kid under your car,' Dobson told her, and Crowe slumped to the ground in shock."

In my opinion, these narrative techniques are not required for a story. That being said, it is very difficult to have a well-written story without them.