Leading readers into stories

Joe GisondiEastern Illinois University

CONFLICT

RELEVANCE

INTRIGUE!

INFORM!

STORY TELLING

It’s how we remember our lives and convey the way of the world.

TELL THE READER WHY HE SHOULD

CARE

Hey, look at me!

• You need to lead with the most significant, interesting aspect of your story.

Other Lead Elements

• Nut graph – Explains specifically how this story is relevant to the reader. Essentially, you are stating why the reader should care. • Lead quote – Draws in the reader with a quote that responds to the main angle of the story.• Body – Continues main angle of the story or goes into another relevant angle.

Story example – Broken Hearts

Lead They work on broken hearts, some as tiny as a walnut. They can track the blood flow inside the heart of an unborn

child and listen to its evolving rhythm. They might operate within days of birth and send the child home with a refurbished heart.

Nut graph Doctors at the newly formed Nemours Cardia Center in Orlando can care for the most difficult cases in the tiniest patients. Families that used to travel to Miami, Boston, and elsewhere now can get help in Central Florida.

Lead quote “We are now able to care for the most complex heart cases that very few centers can handle,” said Sherri Sitarik, executive director for Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women. “We had a great program before, but now we have the opportunity to elevate to international proportions.”

Story example – Discrimination Suit

LEAD A guy walks into a bar on ladies night with a handful of civil rights suits and a pocket stuffed with a pre-written lawsuit.

You might have heard this one before.He asks a bartender for a free drink. The bartender denies

him, saying, “Maybe if you were wearing a skirt.” It’s ladies night, after all. Men pay full price.NUT GRAPH Christopher Langdon calls that sex discrimination. The 48-year-old real estate business owner has filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court against almost a dozen bars in downstown Orlando.

He is asking for up to $100,000 and an end to ladies night promotions, during which women receive free or reduced-price drinks.

The nut graph explains reason for the opening story.

Types of leads

• Hard news – A short, specific lead that tells the punch line first. Straight news focuses on who, what, where, when and why.

HARD NEWS LEADS

Eighty-four passengers and crew members on an American Airlines 727 made an emergency evacuation Friday morning after the smell of smoke was reported in the cabin.

Walt Disney World plans to demolish about one-fourth of its troubled Disney Institute Resort and build 192 time-share units there.

Anecdotal leads

• Offers captivating mini-story the captures the essence of the news article. It offers just enough information to pique the reader’s curiosity, compelling him to learn more about the people and events related to the story.

Action lead

Readers are compelled by dramatic action. Conflict is clearly set up with strong, crisp language. Can follow the Greek technique of in medias ras, where the story starts in the middle, or even near the end, like most movies and short stories.

“Holy crap, there’s Big Foot!”QUOTE NEWS LEAD

The writer uses a key quote to kick off a story.

Use sparingly and only when the quote is so compelling as to draw readers into a story. Plus, try to use some set-up for the quote.

LAUNCHING POINTS FOR HOOKING THE READER

• What is the story about?• What does the reader need to know?

HOOKING THE READER• List the first 4 or 5 most important ideas about your story.

• Find the focus by stripping the story to its basics.

HOOKING THE READER

•Imagine telling the story to a friend. What would you say first?

•Tell the reader how the story will affect them.

MORE WAYS TO HOOK READERS•Be concrete, not abstract.

•Use action verbs in the active voice.

•Don’t pack too much information in the lead. Save some for a second or third sentence.

•Write more than one lead, and constantly revise. Return to the lead after you’ve completed the first draft of the story.

•Paint a picture.

•Find the conflict.

Use internal clauses to add information on the actor of a sentence. Avoid just using and to connect ideas, particularly in the lead.

BOSTON – The brother of a hockey dad convicted in the beating death of another father says he hopes the judge will show compassion when deciding the sentence for what he called a “tragic accident.”

Gov. Jane Swift, accused of ducking tolls by using state-issued fast Lane transponders on her commute to work, produced records Friday to prove that her drive time is on her own dime.

Terrific leads arise from terrific reporting. That’s where you find information worth reporting. So Research. Interview. Observe. A well-reported story can often write itself.

Put a face on the news

Paint a picture

Convey emotion

Remember, it all starts with basic storytelling devices. Hook readers earlyand then keep them yearning for more.