How can we change the world if we can't find our keys?

I almost flagged this story as non-news; it was kinda hard to tell what it was about. by the end of the blog post, readers can see that it's about how many of us seem to need outside help just to keep our lives in some semblance of order. In your highlight, let us know that right away! You'll get more reads that way. here's a brief HOWTO by our friend matte, who has buckets of journalistic experience...

"Writing a good news story intro involves the 5 W's

Who 
What 
Where 
When 
Why 

Ideally all five should be addressed in the first paragraph of a news story, known as the Intro. A good intro will tell the main facts by addressing these, and a good intro will prompt people to read further down the story (as will a good headline).

An intro should be fairly short - about 25 words.

On Now Public as good intro is ESSENTIAL because this is all a reader sees unless they click the link to read the full story.

A poor intro will see fewer opens and reads, and your story will have far less chance of ever making to the front page, or high up in a category list."

 All that said, I love your enthusiasm in posting to our site! The challenge here is finding the difference between blogging and citizen journalism.