Hook Your Readers From the Start

Ah, where to begin?
 
Anyone who writes for a living has muttered that question as they ponder how to start an article, press release, blog, or script.
 
The lead (or in journalism-speak, the lede) is arguably the most important part of anything you write. You can craft a masterful piece, but if your lead is clunker, it could all be for naught. 
 
And good leads are increasingly important in a world awash with content and constant distractions. Here are three ways to start strong.

1. Forget your notes – for now: Pouring over a pile of interview and research notes can be a lead killer by bogging your brain down in details. Instead, after you’ve done your research, take a step back, ignore the notes, and focus on the most compelling aspect of the story that comes to mind. If it stuck with you, then it will likely stick with readers, and from this a strong lead often effortlessly emerges.

2. Think quick and clever: An interesting turn of phrase, or a fresh take on an old cliché can catch a reader’s attention. One lead that I wrote many years back fits the mold here. I had the enviable assignment of covering the Rolling Stones who were touring after a long hiatus. My lead: Time, evidently, is on Mick Jagger’s side. The lead was short, simple, and referenced a well-known Stones’ song and set me up perfectly for a story about aging rockers whose front man seemed ageless.

3. Create curiosity: When they heard the screams, no one suspected the rooster.

That was the lead to a story that St. Petersburg Times reporter Kelly Benham French wrote about one of “the weirder animal attacks” handled by local police.
 
While her lead gives away the culprit in this whodunit, the mere fact that a Rooster was among potential suspects is more than enough to assure that anyone who reads that first line will keep going. If you can create curiosity or an element of suspense in your lead you are well on your way. 
 
Admittedly, much of the content you’re writing doesn’t have the benefit of Mick Jagger or a renegade rooster. Still, just about any story has a better chance of catching your readers attention if you put some thought and creativity into starting strong.