A subject chosen for writing a long form story will have to sustain enough depth, should be relevant, and should be durable for the story to be worth it, said Samanth Subramanian, author and  global editor of Quartz.

Speaking to the students of ACJ-Bloomberg, on the art of feature writing, Subramanian said the above three things are crucial in ideating for a feature article. 

Citing an example of one of his works, he demonstrated the planning process that is required in order to decide the structure of the piece.

Subramanian, who also writes for the New Yorker, said a longform story should have rich details and should be in simple language. He said the lede of a feature article should give enough context to the reader while sustaining the reader’s interest to continue reading. “If the reader stops reading in the middle, you are dead” he said.

Samanth Subramanian’s views are significant as the rise of digital content has reduced the attention span of the reader.