1. Chapter 8
Story Organization

2. The writing process When writing a news story, you need a plan
Conceive
Collect
Construct
Correct

3. Conceive the idea What struck you as most interesting or important
What is most newsworthy
What is the main point of the story
What do readers/viewers need or want to know

4. Collect the information
Get the basics…the 5 W’s
Take good notes
Jot down details from observations
Get quotes, facts, comments from sources
Tape interviews for sound bites
Don’t rely solely on recording

5. Note down additional info you will need
Background, more details, etc
Highlight important points in notes
Gather anecdotes
Brief stories from sources
Consider the your focus as you report

6. Verify facts, names & spelling
Think ahead
What do you need to do next
Collect documents
Verify facts, names & spelling
Some of the worst errors to make

7. Construct the story Find the focus Plan an order Topics Highlights
Write a focus sentence on top of your story before you begin
Plan an order
Topics
Main points/highlights you want to cover
Highlights
If creating a highlights box…what would they be?
Time sequence
Are there distinct time elements or chronological events?

8. Block Sources Q & A Free-writing Ending
Cover all comments from one source
Before moving to the next source
Q & A
If one paragraph raises questions
Answer them in the next
Free-writing
If you can’t find an order, write what you remember w/out notes
Then look for logical arrangement
Ending
Create a lasting impression
Strong quote, future action

9. Correct the story Read your story aloud Basics Context Check Accuracy
One of the best self editing techniques for print publication
Basics
Are the 5 W’s there
Context
Background or details to help readers understand story
Check Accuracy
Double check names, titles and facts

10. Avoid opinion based adjectives Purge and parroting
Let details and sources describe actions and feelings
Purge and parroting
If quotes/sound bites repeat your transitions or story content
Rewrite or cut them
Cut useless or excess words
Edit the pace
Check grammar
(subject verb agreement)
Cut jargon
Read aloud again

11. Tips for tightening stories
Squeeze a fact on every line
(one idea per sentence)
Focus tightly
Think about the REAL story and share what’s important
Use impact leads
Avoid rehashing known info, apply Spin/Angle on lead
Make the story move
Make your point early & use info that supports it
Keep it tight

12. Use specific details over adjectives Don’t over attribute
“ancient windmill” vs “100-year-old windmill
Don’t over attribute
No need for he/she said after every sentence
But make sure source of info is clear
Use strong, lively verbs
Hundred of people in the streets vs
“lined, jammed, crowded, etc
Avoid weak transitions
With well organized articles, transitions will be minimal
Use quotes that advance story

13. Story Structure Leads Tips to finding a good lead Remember the 5 W’s
What will hook reader’s attention
What does reader need to know first/most
In order to understand the story?
What is the story about
Remember the 5 W’s
Write a few leads then choose the best one later

14. Making middles move Vary the pace Parallelism
Follow long sentences with short ones
This helps readers to follow the story
Parallelism
Wording sentences in the same grammatical order
Even repeating some words

15. BBI- Boring but important info
Break it up throughout the story, not in one long block
Simple sentence for complex info
Use simple sentences for difficult info
Lists
Help the flow through middle of story
Itemize group of statistics or cumbersome info
Highlight key points in a story

16. Use Active Voice when possible
She will always remember her first story
VS. Her first story will always be remembered by her
Write short, simple sentences
Keep the subject and verb close together
Write the way you speak
To improve reading flow through story

17. Endings Quote kickers Circle kicker Future-Action Factual
Quote that sums up the main idea of story
Circle kicker
Tying together your lead and ending
Future-Action
Giving the next step in the development of an issue
Factual
Short simple sentence that states a fact
Could possibly work as a lead

18. Endings Cliffhangers Out of gas endings Also a suspense ending
Used if story will continue on another day
Out of gas endings
Used when there is nothing more to say
Appropriate for hard news stories

19. Due next Monday (9/17) A news article written by you Headline Lead
words (Include word count on paper)
Headline
Lead
Body/middle
Ending
2 or more primary sources
Meaning people you talked to/interviewed
Story should relate to school, community or students