iReport Toolkit: Tell your story like a pro

Read the following tips posted on CNN iReport:
The Ingredients of a Good Story

We asked a slew of CNN reporters, producers and editors what they thought made a good news story and how to craft one, and came up with a few words of advice:

1. First things first: your story needs to include the basics. That's who, what, where, when, why and how. It needs to be true, and it needs to be fair.
2. It connects. Someone has to care about the story and the people in it, or it's not really worth telling. It's your job as a storyteller to explain why anyone should.
3. It's told in words we all use and understand. If you were going to call your best friend and tell her the story, what would you start with? And how would you describe it? That's probably the best part, and the simplest way to get it across. Start there, and see where it takes you.
4. It's got pace. You want your audience to need to know what happens next. Build pace with narrative, quotes, natural sound, or, if you're working with video, creative shot editing.
   It feels real. Emotion is a powerful connector, and can go a long way toward helping us understand one another. Think about how you can use images, sound and words to express the emotional range of a story and its characters.
5. Map it out. If you're planning to edit a video, put together a photo gallery, or write a text story, it usually helps to put together a plan of action. What are the crucial details? What's the most important part? How are the pieces connected? Draft an outline or sketch a storyboard before you get started with the hard work of writing and editing. You'll be glad you did.