The first — and last — issues of relates to its original meaning — that Veronica Volpe of the Pittsburgh  Press wrote  the following example: For those unaware of the military usage of the word, the phrase ‘the best small  mess  in  the  Navy’  might  have questionable  connotation,  least  of  all merit. Not so to the crew members of the USS  Semmes  just returned from a M e d i t e r r a n e a n    t o u r    a n d    n ow undergoing overhaul in Norfolk, Va. The   military   usage   of   “mess” of  a  group  of  persons  who  eat  their meals  together,  as  do  the  men  of  a ship’s company or an Army group. . . . An  important  fact  to  keep  in  mind  when  writing about Navy equipment and weapons is that the reader can soon lose interest in a dull story about a machine or weapon.  The reader is interested in the men and women in uniform who will handle, install, maintain and operate those  inanimate  —  and  intrinsically  dull  —  pieces  of hardware. The  effect  of  the  machine  on  the  person,  and  the person on the machine, must be presented in a way that emphasizes  people,  and  the  writer  must  make  those people into rounded characters who become real in the reader’s  mind.  In  other  words,  the  story  must  have human interest. The writer of the following feature lead did just that by beginning a story in the following way: The machine, a metal monstrosity, squatted in the center of the metal deck, circled   by   a   knot   of   Navy   men:   a bemused young officer, three puzzled sailors and a knowing old chief. “I know what it’s supposed to do,” the first sailor said, “and I know where we’re  supposed  to  bolt  it  down,  but who’s  ever  going  to  operate  a  Rube Goldberg puzzle like that?” “You  are,  buster,”  the  old  chief said, “and . . . Department.  ... Body When  you  write  the  body  of  a  feature  story,  it  is important for you to avoid monotony. You do this by varying sentence length, however, long sentences must be clear and easy to understand. Note  the  varied  sentence  length  in  the  following feature from the Indianapolis News: eight  newspapers  were  published  at  Ft. Benjamin Harrison the other day. But their brief life span had little relationship to the energy and interest devoted   to   their   publication.   The papers   were   the   last   journalism exercises   for   70   servicemen   and women,  graduating  with  a  newspaper in  one  hand,  and  a  diploma  from  the Defense  Media  Institute  at  Ft.  Harrison in the other. From all the armed forces, staffers in the “quill and scroll” exercise got a glimpse   into   their   military   future. These  military  journalists  will  go  to assignments  throughout  the  world. Many will find jobs on more permanent newspaper   staffs,   using   what   they learned at Ft. Harrison. Nine weeks ago, this basic military journalist   class   began.   Since   then students   have   spent   209   classroom hours   in   the   Basic   Journalism Another point to note is the use of quoted material to  carry the story along.  Skillfully conducted interviews with  articulate  experts  will  provide  the  writer  with quotations.   Such   quotations,   interspersed   with expository   material,   help   move   a   story   along   and maintain  a  lively  spark  throughout.  Explanations  and readily comprehensible revelations from authorities in a  given  field  impart  an  air  of  authenticity  to  writing, particularly in stories about technical subjects, such as rocketry, instruments, engine improvements, jet engine overhaul and nuclear propulsion. However  he  or  she  chooses  to  explain  technical subjects, the writer should always remember the need to translate technical terms into lay language for the sake of the general audience. When this is not possible, the writer must define the technical terms. When you write a feature on a technical subject, use the following points to help you plan and organize the body  of  your  material:     Make paragraph beginnings forceful to impel the reader  through  the  story. 3-5