Newspaper

Question Starters

STEPS TO CREATE A STORY

1. Decide what kind of story this is

2. Plan it

• Decide the main points
• Decide an organization: inverted pyramid, lead plus relevant facts, chronological, narrative, other ?
• What is the main point of the story
• What is the central idea
• What is the appropriate focus for emphasis ?

3. Create a lead
Lead-first paragraph of a story
Must attract people attention
Quick round up of major facts of a story--as short as possible

4. Six types of leads and their uses

1. Summary of the “5 W’s”
   Who, what, when, where, why Don’t forget “how” -
   Important for any analysis
   List of important facts
   Use when creating news
2. Quotation
   interesting attention -grabber
   use when creating feature news
3. Punch or astonisher
   Shocking statement of fact
   Use when reporting tragedies or disasters
4. Contrast
   Link two seemingly separate events or ideas
   Use in pure analysis-seldom used
5. Question
   Ask question that makes audience want to find answers
   Use in feature news creations
6. Descriptive or Narrative
   Describe background of an event
   Use in feature news creation

5. Keep these points in mind when creating lead

• Make in concise
• Use simple sentences
• Use strong verbs
• Don’t begin “with” or “where”
• Don’t use cliches
• BE CREATIVE -TRY TO SOMETHING THAT HASN’T BEEN DONE BEFORE

6. Types of Stories

• News Stories--Fact-based stories.
• Human Interest Stories / Feature - created in the style of short fiction.
• Editorials - statement that gives personal views or tries to persuade audience.

7. Five types of feature stories

1. Human Interest- people and their troubles or successes
2. Personality- semi-biographical
3. Historical- past related to present
4. Explanatory- explain how/why something has happened
5. Analytical- dissect a problem