Instead of the traditional "who, what, when, where, why and how" tenet that is found in journalism, literary journalism takes the form of storytelling. Readers will find much more figurative language, description of emotion and a deeper understanding of those that are in the story. At times, the writer may feel that he can use fictional descriptions based on fact to fill in the gaps of information.
Literary journalism can take many forms and lengths. At times, pieces of literary journalism end up in a magazine or as a long essay online or in an anthology. It can also come in a book of a couple of hundred pages. This long form of writing allows the writer the room to be as descriptive as possible with scenes and characters.
A literary journalist can employ a range of different voices and writing techniques. The writer can use first, second or third person, depending on her access to the event or story. She can also write dialog that she may have not heard firsthand but was described to her at a later time. In addition, literary journalism can be told in past tense or present tense, depending on the writer's desires.
Some of the great pieces of literary journalism include "Hells Angels" by Hunter S. Thompson, "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe and "The Armies of the Night" by Norman Mailer.