Leads

As observant as I always am, I had no idea there were different kinds of leads. I thought a lead was a lead was a lead. There’s more than one kind. My favorite though, is an anecdotal lead. This is essentially a story within a story. It starts out small then increases the scope of the story to illustrate the main point. For example, if writing a story on a farming program that helps feed the homeless, an anecdotal lead would probably start with a story about one individual farmer. This type of lead helps guide the reader to the main point without a neon sign that says “This is my main point!”

                A lead shouldn't be a repeat of the headline, as who wants to read a headline and read the same thing in the lead? No one.

                Editing Tip of the Week- A passive-aggressive note on the ladies bathroom read “If need you a bath, use “water”, not perfume.”

                I could not help myself and posted this under it- “If you need emphasis, use italics, not “quotation marks”.