Steps to Writing a Story

1. Find a Topic
- ex: sports, activities, things that are newsworthy to the audience.
Who, What, Why

2. Find an Angle
- What is your topic about? More specifically, what is important about your topic.
- ex: girls basketball team, recap game, individual players, coach, fans, going to state.
- ex 2: gun control, for, against.
- be able to summarize your angle in three words: Subject, Verb, Object.
- ex: Wife awaits soldier.

3. Collect Information
- Who are the experts for this story?
- Do you need opposing points of view?
- What interview questions should I ask?
- What other research must be done to complete the story?

4. Interview
- Ask open ended questions
- Get good sound bytes. A PIECE OF AUDIO THAT CAN STAND ALONE.
- Have the person restate the question in the interview.

5. Shoot Your Reporter Stand-Up
- Should have a good idea what story is about
- Stand-Up should provide information that audience doesn't know.
- Use Stand-Up for transition from one location to the next
- No first person: I went..

6. Organize Your Sound Bytes
- Which quotes should I use?
- How can I organize the quotes to tell a story?
- What are my gold nuggets?
- Sprinkle the nuggets throughout the story!
- Use best sound byte to grab the audience's attention

7. Write Segues in Your Story
- Use words that tie the interview together
- What other information can I add to the story?
- Can the story stand on its own?

8. Write the Beginning and End of Your Story
- Write body first
- Best sound bytes for beginning and end
- Paraphrase a sound byte at the beginning
- Leave them with strongest sound byte at end
- Leave them with hope

9. Write ins and outs (If necessary)
- What should the anchors say to introduce my story or bring it to a close? No scoop went to find out
- How should the story begin and end?
- Use attention getters at the introduction but avoid rhetorical questions

A-ROLL
- Anything that is said in the story

10. Collect B-Roll- Should match A-Roll
- How can video enhance my story?
- Make a list of items you would like photographed
- How should I edit the audio and video together to enhance my story?
- Should other enhancements like music, graphics, effects be used?