"dos and donts"

I have learned to try and keep the leads to one or two sentences to keep it concise and not to wordy.  I learned not to be vague say it how it is. I also learned to avoid using "is," "are," "was," and "were."  I learned to emphasize what is more local because people are more interested in that.  I learned not to talk about time and place in leads, or just mention only the topic and not the substance of the story. I also learned not to make lists in leads or exaggerate leads because then it makes the story weaker.