Try telling someone your story

Here's a great suggestion for helping you focus your stories. Steve Buttry, of the American Press Institute, says you should pretend you are telling someone your story. He passes this on from Henry McNulty, former ombudsman at the Hartford Courant: "Suppose you are at a bus stop and someone leans out the bus window and shouts, 'What is that story you are working on?' The bus engine starts and begins to pull away from the curb. What are you going to shout?" Michael Schwartz, training manager for Cox Newspapers, suggests you ask yourself questions when you are finished reporting. Start with "What surprised you the most?"