Welcome aboard as a Liberty News Reporter! When I first arrived, Ben had some great advice about writing newspaper stories that might help you too. Here we go!

EXPLORING STORY IDEAS

A big decision is figuring out what to write about. Here are some story starter ideas:

• PEOPLE - How about a story on a person you saw on Liberty's Kids or learned about in school? Our LNN Archives has a section called "Who" that's filled with people with fascinating stories.
• EVENTS - Maybe a story on an event like the Boston Tea Party that caught your attention? In the LNN Archives is a "Where" section filled with events that are great story ideas.
• PLACES - How about a story on a place in colonial America? Maybe Valley Forge or Philadelphia? Check out the "Where" section in the LNN Archive to research interesting places.
• THINGS - Maybe a story on things like ships, clothes and flags? The LNN Archive has a "What" section filled with fascinating things to write about.

RESEARCHING YOUR STORY

Good research is the key to a great story. Here are a couple of helpful research hints:

• SELECT YOUR TOPIC - Try to focus your research on one topic area. Maybe you want to focus on "People" and think Ben Franklin is pretty interesting. (I certainly do!) Go to the "WHO" section of the LNN Archive and find Ben. You might learn that Ben is related to "Events" he was at or "Things" he created. Take notes about facts you think are interesting.
• FOLLOW YOUR CURIOSITY - Go to the WHAT and WHERE sections of the LNN archives to get more information about Events, Places or Things you discovered are related to Ben. Explore what you think is interesting
• FOCUS ON WHAT'S INTERESTING TO YOU! - Once you've done your research on Ben, you need to decide on a story angle. You could write a story about Ben the newspaper publisher or Ben the Inventor or Ben in Paris - whatever YOU think will make an interesting story.

WRITING YOUR STORY

James has some great Reporters Tips that can help you actually write your news story. Just click on the Help & Suggestions to the right. I've also created a finished newspaper that you can print out if you'd like to see an example of what you're going to be creating.

If you're ready to start exploring or researching a story, head off to the LNN Archives. Or if you already know what you're going to write, launch the Newsmaker and start creating your own Liberty Newspaper. Good Luck!