Types of Leads
Adapted from Barry Lane’s Reviser’s Toolbox
Big Potato Leads – Begin in the middle of your story and leave the reader wanting more.
Clue: Normally shocking!!
And suddenly everything stops. - Runa
He warned her about the book. Now, it was too late.
– The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
Snapshot Leads – Creates a picture with words in the reader’s mind
Clue: Lots of Detail
The old lady waited patiently at the creaky door. Watching the dust balls dancing across the porch floor, the old lady sighed. She tapped her fingers on the rusty screen. Maybe today it will rain she thought. – Mrs. McD
Talking Leads – Start your story with dialogue
Clue: Quotation Marks
“Where is Papa going with that ax?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
– Charlotte’s Web
Thinking Leads – Start with a thought from inside your character or inside of you
Clue: Usually written in first person (I)
I can travel through time. Oh, I know what you are thinking. You’ve seen dozens of science fiction movies and you’ve read books where people travel through time. But I can really do it. – Shoeless Joe & Me
Misleading Leads – Setting up the story, but then surprising the reader instead
Clue: Has a twist (think Harry Potter here)
Until Columbus reached the New World the people he called “Indians” lived in peace and harmony with one another. Not so. – Not So!
Set-up Leads – Creating the action for the story in a few sentences
Clue: Builds and builds, setting up for a real page turner
If you asked the kids and teachers at Lincoln Elementary School to make three lists – all the really bad kids, all the really smart kids, and all the really good kids – Nick Allen would not be on any of them. Nick deserved a list all his own, and everyone knew it. - Frindle