Many people assume that writing a news story takes hours of research. While there are stories out there that take research time and the ability to conduct interviews, there are also local news stories that are just perfect for your local newspaper. The key to developing and writing these types of news stories is knowing how to find a topic that might be of interest to not only yourself but to your readers.

Here are a few tips on how to find a news story for your local paper without having to spend hours finding a topic that might be of interest to yourself and your readers.

Create a List. Almost all writing starts with brainstorming and news writing is no different. Start by creating a list of things that you know about your local area. This can be hobbies that you engage in, organizations you volunteer for or events that your neighbors or you are hosting. Just sit down and create a list of everything that you know is going on around you in your local area.

Expand on the List. The next step is to expand on the list of ideas. Take each item on the list and try to think of areas that you can expand on. A great example of this is someone who plays softball through their local parks and recreation department. You could take that idea and expand it to talk about any new baseball fields, fundraising events, new uniforms or even hikes in fees to play the sport.

Start Your Research. After you have created expanded ideas from your list you can start your research. Try to think about local people that you can interview or ask questions as most people reading the local paper are interested in local people.

Take the Information and Write. Once you have the ideas and research you are ready to go. Just sit down and let the ideas flow. Sometimes creating a catchy headline works to inspire the story.