The Unfavorable News In general, keep sentences brief yet varied in length. Check and double-check your information. Always use both a person's first and last name in the first reference, and double-check the spelling. When feasible, utilize quotes and place them near the beginning of the tale. These will help readers understand what someone thinks about this topic. The Good News Usually comes at the end of the article. This is where you would list awards or recognition, if any. You can also include information about charitable work that someone does. This is called "positive writing," and it helps others learn more about that person. Hard news is written differently than soft news. With soft news, you want to give readers the feelers to want to read more. With hard news, you want to get right to the point. Use language that is factual and avoids opinion unless you are giving an opinion piece. Many people think that only serious topics deserve hard news coverage. But that's not true at all. If something interesting happens, write it down! Maybe someone else will be interested in reading about it later. As long as you're not plagiarizing other people's work, anything goes for your story. Include personal anecdotes, experiences, humor, and more. As long as you aren't claiming things that others have said or done, go for it!