Our Features Editor, Alex, explains how important you, our readers, are when it comes to features!
Within the Features Team, our ‘one-page wonders’ are called “filler features” – a historic title we gave to the wee anecdotal pieces that were used to fill a page when a story ran a little short. Nowadays, those slots are not so wee – instead we have full single pages available, and we need readers’ and writers’ contributions more than ever!
I’ve seen a few great examples come in over recent weeks, and we’ve been delighted to be able to find them a home, from memories of driving in the 1950s to the artwork of narrowboats. These features might seem wildly diverse, but at heart, they’re not. They are all stories about people, and without that human touch they just wouldn’t work.
Just as with a piece of fiction, what brings a feature to life are the characters behind it – and the most important character is the writer. After all, you decide where the reader’s focus goes and when. It’s one reason why we have quite a high success rate with fiction writers turning out good features (when they have the time!) – if you know a good story, you know a good story, whether it’s a work of pure imagination or teasing out that human interest in the history of a social enterprise or a childhood memory.
Whether it’s a fond memory, a passionate hobby or a story about a charity or an inspirational person you think our readers would like to know about, please do get in touch and tell us your story. Have a look at our guidelines to get the finer details of submitting down, and I do hope to be hearing from you!
Alex, Features Ed.
It’s not just Alex who loves to hear from readers; Lucy in the fiction team wants to hear from you, too! Click here to find out why.
Alex Corlett I am the "Friend's" Features Editor, working with the talented Features Team to bring you everything from cryptic crosswords to financial advice, knitting patterns to international travel and inspirational real life stories. Always on the hunt for a new feature idea, I also enjoy cycling and love a good tea room.
