Like many competitions, The Sacramento Press Journalism Open 2012 can spark creativity and drive just as easily as it can spark apprehension and pure terror. On Tuesday, The Sacramento Press held a workshop to help writers develop ideas and answer any questions about the writing contest.

Sacramento Press Editor-in-Chief Colleen Belcher went over the rules and criteria for this year’s Journalism Open. Because The Sacramento Press is a hyperlocal newspaper, Belcher emphasized keeping stories both local and relevant to the readers.

When asked about the subject of target audience, Belcher said writers should think about how local residents would react to their story, and to frame it as if you were telling the story to someone you know.

“How would you tell your friends or your mom?” Belcher asked. “How would you make it exciting?”

Top tips for reporting were to research the subject and to get as many photos possible to help tell the story visually.

Belcher also encouraged writers to inform their sources that they plan to write a news story, and to give the sources plenty of time to reply when contacting them to be interviewed. Another tip was that the story should try to keep the reader’s attention with a strong first sentence or paragraph.

When asked about the most common mistakes writers make, Belcher said that constant and careless errors in spelling or grammar make a big difference in an article. Another problem is not providing human sources, which can immediately disqualify a story for consideration for the contest. Writers need to have sources besides websites or information they find on the Internet.

Belcher said the recommended amount of words for an article is 700 words or lower.

When writers go to write their stories on sacramentopress.com , they must remember that clicking “publish” will instantly post the story as-is, and writers won’t be able to make any corrections to it.

“Make sure you’re 100 percent happy with your story before publishing,” Belcher said.

Belcher recommended using resources at The Sacramento Press, such as free copy editing and use of digital cameras. Writers can send their stories to journalism@sacramentopress.com to have them edited for grammatical and spelling errors.

To check out equipment, writers should contact Casey Kirk, director of community outreach, by emailing her at support@sacramentopress.com

Because other writers will be submitting their stories for copy editing and checking out equipment, Belcher said to finish these tasks sooner rather than later.

JoAngeline O’Connor, a 28-year-old office technician, said she came to the workshop because she likes to write, and wants to “reform the system” of child protective services with this skill. She said she enjoyed the class and feels more confident about entering the contest.

Heidi Gilbert, a 48-year-old physical therapist, said she came for the class at the recommendation of a friend from The Grapevine Monthly. Gilbert said she thought this was a normal Sacramento Press writing workshop and hadn’t realized it would be focusing on the Journalism Open contest.

“It wasn’t what I was expecting,” Gilbert said, “but it was great. I learned a lot, and I’m going to use this information.”

Winners of this year’s Journalism Open will be announced on Feb. 13th, on the website.