Good stories use straightforward language, and incorporate the human interest of a project. They should sound like an individual recounting a story about a project.

Tell a story about an event or series of event(s) that had a profound positive or negative impact on you or on the person(s) you are writing about.

Show, don't tell. Make the reader experience the events and emotions portrayed through the eyes of the participants.

Remember the “five Ws” (Who? What? When? Where? and Why?): Stories should include a summary of an event or activity as well as challenges faced, lessons learned, successes, etc.

Write from the heart. Tell your story honestly, fully, and succinctly.

End with a conclusion that resolves the conflict/challenge in a positive way, leaves readers with an Aha! or Wow! or Yes! moment.

Avoid acronyms and if they are included explain them the first time.

Mind these three steps:
Present the issue, challenge, and/or opportunity: By the end of the first paragraph, readers should have a clear understanding of the main issue.

Response: After introducing the issue, lead right into the response. The intent to address the challenge is the main idea of the story, and most of the detail of the story will be here.

Results, and/or impact, lessons learned: Results and impact tie the story together, and allow the reader to understand how the response to the challenge met the opportunity described in the beginning.

And watch out for:
Ensure your story is mainly about people rather than organizations. This should not be an advertisement.