A4) Turning on the lightbulb: How to generate great feature ideas
- Time:
- Saturday, October 29th, 9:30 am to 10:45 am
- Location:
- Iberian A, Omni La Mansión
- Speaker(s):
- Amanda LittleProfessor of investigative journalism, Vanderbilt University
- Adam RogersDeputy editor, Wired
- Florence WilliamsContributing editor, Outside magazine
- Moderator(s):
- Hillary RosnerIndependent journalist
- Organizer(s):
- Hillary RosnerIndependent journalist
What makes a great feature story? Where do the ideas for these great features come from? How do we make sure we stumble on them? How do we know them when we see them? How can we engineer them from fascinating but unrefined topics? Many writers long to break into longform but struggle to figure out how to generate feature-worthy ideas—and how to turn them into pitches.
This panel will demystify the process. We’ll learn the tricks of the trade from two longtime magazine journalists, including one who always has loads more feature ideas than she can ever find time to report and one who excels at getting multiple features out of a single topic. And we’ll also hear from a magazine editor who's a whiz at seeing the story in the topic and helping shape ideas into excellent features.
There are so many outlets for science features now, outlets that are really searching for outstanding stories. This panel will offer practical advice that will help writers tap into those venues.
