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?"

Three words to focus your story: Who did what?

Figuring out how to focus a story after you've done the reporting is tough. I often tell reporters they should keep a post-it note on their computers with the words, "Why should I care?" on it. Reporters need to remember that's the question readers will want answered as they decide whether or not to spend time with a story. Writing coach Chip Scanlan, of the Poynter Institute, suggests reporters ask three questions: What's the news, what's the story and so what? Don Gibb, a former reporter and editor at the London Times, suggests outlining. He also recommends thinking of your story in chunks - that's especially important online. And Al Tompkins, Poynter's broadcast and online leader, says tell your story in these three words - who did what - to find the focus. Whether you are telling a story in print, online, or for broadcast, that advice works. Try it and let me know if it helps.

Why should you care?

Good journalism is all about telling stories, whether you're writing for the web or print. Robert Niles, of the Online Journalism Review, suggests some of the assumptions we make about writing for the web are wrong. He says regardless of your platform writers must remember: "To connect with that audience, however, journalists must report thoroughly, write with authority and place all information in their reports into a context relevant to readers' personal lives." And Jonathan Dube, of cyberjournalist.net, makes similar points, at least in part. "People want to know not just what happened, but why it matters. And with all the information sources out there now, in the end it will be the sites that explain the news the best that succeed. Write and edit all your stories with this in mind." Readers simply stop reading if reporters don't explain what's in it for them. My advice: Everytime you write a story, put a sticky note on your computer that reminds you to ask: "Why Should I Care?" Remember who your readers are and make sure you answer that question.
Think of your own reading habits. Why do you keep reading some stories and not others?