Alternative Leads

As we discussed in class yesterday, feature stories work best if you start them in an interesting way. Some of the different kinds o leads we talked about were:
1. Summary - tells what the story is a about, but with a few interesting details
"The eight eagle chicks that were introduced to the wild in Addison last spring are now surviving successfully on their own."

2. Descriptive: Describes the place, the scene of an event, or a person.
"In the middle of a junior golf tournament on a humid, 100-degree day, Abby Spector, then 12, missed yet another putt she should have made." Her father came over to her, and in a whisper, asked Abby if she wanted to quit. Abby cooly took a different club from her bag and headed for the next tee. "We've been through a lot worse than this," she said.

3. Narrative: Makes it obvious that a story is going to be told. Can be a lot like a descriptive lead

4. Compare/Contrast: Starts with an expectation and uses "but," "yet," or "however" to dispel it.
" Francine Grover can audit and review an expense sheet in her sleep." But she doesn't need those skills at the only job she can find these days: flipping burgers at McDonald's."

5. Question: "Have we come to the end of an era?"

6. Direct Address: The You Lead
" Admit it. You think you're a better than average driver."

7. Quotation (Make sure it's a good one.)
"So how is it you're so lucky to have two moms?" the hair stylist asked Emily. Without hesitation, Emily, 8, replied," Well, they met in college, fell in love, and years later, here I am!"

8. Shocking: The last one is a bit of a shocker, but here's another one:
"Kathy Eldrid should be dead by now."

9. Suspense: Like narrative, but with a lot of drama:
"Looking back, it all seemed too good to be true."

10. Literary, or historical allusion; Referring to a character from history or literature to either make a comparison or contrast.
"Fans seem to consider him more powerful than a locamotive, faster than a speediing bullet, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but Michael Jordan isn't really Superman. He's just the best player playing in the NBA today.