I am not very proficent in writing leads but I have learned to use the most vital (and attention grabbing) information available. By using the most pertinent, or unusual attention within a lead, you will bring the reader into the story. It is these first couple of sentences of a news story where a reader will decide to continue with the story or to move on. I know from personal experience that when I read a news story, if I am not interested in the story with the first 2 or 3 lines, I am through and moving on.
As far as don'ts in writing leads, I have learned that I should not use an overabundance of info. If I overwell the lead with statistics or just dry information the rest of the story is lost and there is not much room for development.
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Grade: 8/10
ReplyDeleteMistakes:
• Should be two or three
• Information should be spelled out
• Did you mean overwhelm when you wrote overwell?