Feature Writing

Preliminary 

Man is hommo socius (social beings) who can not stand alone. Each other need each other to a very high level of dependence, it creates interaction. In practice this interaction, there are activities that are called to communicate, that is to receive and communicate something to the opponent interaction. Something that can be called with the message (message) or information (information), news (news), and others. Means or device containing the codes to communicate that certain well established communication. Initially, the codes were being created or created in the conventional (no written agreement). The codes that are then referred to the language.  

Linguists (linguists) allow to swim, there are four language skills used in communicating, ranked by degree of difficulty in penguasannya, namely listening (listening), speaking (speaking), reading (reading) and writing (writing). Of the four skills, linguists classify them into two categories, namely category absorb something (input) and emit something (output). Skills that fit into that category are listening and absorbing read, and that comes into the category of emitting is speaking and writing. On the facts and pr  

Language must be mastered if we want to communicate skillfully. That is why there are education and language skills training, including training of writing we are running now, is this part of the exercise kerempilan language.

1. Definition I will write feature tells the techniques based on experience as a freelance writer, then enriched with the experience of writing as a journalist in Media Indonesia, and now a reporter at National Journal newspapers and tabloid Cocktails.  

I will not explain the techniques of academic writing feature in theory, because it was never a purely academic study to learn the theory of writing. I'll even be quasi-academic, knowingly. Of course I've followed the lessons Writing as an undergraduate in the Department of Language and Literature IKIP Bandung Indonesia (now named UPI). Also get a little lunch theory writing for newspapers while attending training at the Institute for Education and Training Press Yogyakarta (LP3Y), and in-house training in Media Indonesia. This experience will I extracted, and hopefully can be digested.  

Before berurai further, I need to advance understanding of feature writing. According to etymology, the term is taken from the English language feature, which means an article, picture, features, aspects, major films, privileges. Well, turns out a lot of meaning. Well, I conclude the sense in the context of feature writing is a kind of writing that tried to depict or describe something, for example describes the state of a place, event, person profiles, and others. Anyway, writing feature is like painting on the spot, or like a photograph, but the use of words as the medium.  

Need to be explained, there are many professional writers with distinctive characteristics and ethics that must be met when writing, such as scientists, teachers, journalists, writers, and others. There are differences in labor discipline among them. Type of paper it produces is different too. Feature techniques are often used by the authors as they work.  

Type of feature writing is often disamaartikan with writing essay type. Indeed there are similarities, but not exactly the same. Time Writing majors, type of essay writing is often referred to as works of popular science. While the features agreed upon a work of journalistic writing which must comply with the rules or code of journalistic ethics in his writing.  

Suffice it here to explain the definition of features. Because, you know, the theory obtained in writing anywhere, setingkali difficult to put into practice. Being a writer in the end not because of learning from theory but from practice. Similar to learn football, though reading the theory of football until the volumes, it is still not going to be a football player if you do not have football practice.  

It should be understood that writing is one of the speaking activity. According to linguists (linguists), there are four types of activities for language, namely listening, or listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Four types of activities into categories of skills or skill. Any such thing as skill, dialkukan learning through practice, but that does not mean theoretical lessons are not needed at all. Therefore, I always remembered fragments of the word famous American writer named Edgar Allan Poe when asked, how do you learn to write. Edgar replied: Write! Write! Write!  

So, if you want to be able to write, the best lesson to be taken is: Write! Write! Write! Opinion Allan Poe was right. I, too, when learning to write to be sent to the newspaper, reached by writing and keep writing.  
When I was in college, I wrote in the newspaper People's Mind, New York Post, Mandala Sunday, Partners Village, Pelita, Media Indonesia, Republika, Singgalang, and other media may still exist, but I forgot his name. As I recall, was first learning to write for publication and successfully loaded by a newspaper is written by type of poetry. Then I learned to write short stories, opinions, essays, and eventually learned to write reviews and criticism. After becoming the official reporter in Media Indonesia, then I learned to write news freature type. There are several requirements that must be met in feature writing, and I will describe the requirements in this part before.

2. Getting Started  

a. Mimic  
I am beginning to learn to write is by reading someone else, then mimic the writing. Understanding mimic not to be confused with plagiarizing. In the world of writing, copying is called plagiarism. Unlawful to plagiarist. The theory of imitation, in Aristotle called mimetic. This is the first theory that humans use in studying a variety of skills, ranging from the simplest skills to the most difficult skill to learn. Humans learn to eat, walk, talk, bathe, wear clothes, it's a way of imitating others. Babies like to be taught to speak by imitating sounds sent by a nanny, is not it? Then people learn music (singing), reading and writing, drawing, to formulate and define something, was also studied by copying.  

There is nothing wrong with imitation. Even smart men were still using replicate measures to achieve something extraordinary. Soichiro Honda, when it was first made Honda is now rampant in many parts of the world, is to imitate. Even the Prophet Muhammad and the other Apostles, mimicking the Angel Gabriel's revelation delivered. What should be copied from a tuliasn? Praktikan course, you'll know the answer.
 
b. Compare  
Now we do not live in a traditional civilization. In traditional times, a student shall be called great if it is able to produce quality work that matched the work of his teacher. In the modern era and kotemporer, someone called great if it is able to defeat the work of his teacher, or at least produce work that is different from the work of his teacher. Therefore, any profession in today, not enough to stop until the artisans to imitate. We must keep moving in order to grow, and grow continues to bear fruit.  

Development of the written word, one achieved by doing the comparison. Comparative studies are needed to quantify the results we have achieved. Therefore, if we truly want to become a successful writer, we must read the works of famous writers, to compare with our work.  

There is a slogan reads, you are what you eat, and you are how to eat (you are what you eat and how you eat). Healthy or not someone also determined by what you eat and how to eat it. For the writer, or food intake is absorbing information through listening and reading.  

Now, therefore, a writer who really wants to be a true writer, he must constantly reading and listening quality. It's hard to be a qualified writer if his reading is not qualified, and the conversation also contained through gossip or rumors. Frankly, I do not like watching infotainment because it is not quality, merely gossip, and expose the dignity of others. Once in a while I just watch infotainment, just to know. If you want to be a writer, I recommend not to infotainment and addicted to soap operas.  

There's another slogan that has become important advice, if a fighter wants to be great, then the college gempurlah very tough. Musashi's character in Eiji Yoshikawa's novel, is a byword examples of people who practice it. This proverb recommends, learn about reading a great-great thinkers of the world, if you want to become a international perspective.
 
c. Sculpt  
After comparing our writing with other people's work, we will know the flaws in our writing. The next task is to carve our writing in order to work better. The sharpest chisel to enhance writing is grammar and writing method according to the experts, or at least write method according to the authors experienced. Regarding the grammar lesson, I will not elaborate. Regarding the method of writing, I will describe my experience to be a writer, and will be explained before.
 
d. Polish  
A statue that has been completed chiseled still needs final polish, for example, sanded or painted. Likewise a post, after the completed written, it still requires finishing touch (touches) in order to appear more beautiful and gorgeous.

Beautiful writing, is full of information, and according to Tempo magazine tagline: Delicious to read and need. He flows like a river clear, refreshing the visionaries. Selaiknya good writing pithy and beautiful, so refreshing the reader. 

If a statue requires sandpaper and dyes to enhance your shape, then in a paper, sandpaper and pewarnanya it be a logic language, vocabulary enrichment, imagination, emotion, and others. Also on gloss paper, will be described on the front.