Writing a Soft News Lead That Hooks the Reader

Writing a strong article lead is challenging. The soft news lead, commonly found in magazine articles, can take multiple forms.

The purpose of any opening sentence or paragraph is to draw the reader in. How do you do that? You tell them something they want to know. Like hard news, magazine articles have to answer:

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?
• How?

Quotation Lead

This is only one of the many types of leads news writers use.

Quotation leads are just what they sound like. You start the article off with a relevant, striking quote, and follow it with narrative support to draw the reader in. The quote you choose must have a few specific characteristics:

• Keep it short
• Don't be afraid of shock value
• Set the tone of the piece
• Lead smoothly into the narrative

So, how does this work?

First, know the purpose of your article.

What are you trying to convey to the reader? Does the quote fit with the message? Or does it set up an interesting contrast? If it does neither, it won't work.

Second, is the quote interesting or entertaining?

Make sure it isn't too long. No one wants to read a speech. A good rule is no more than two or three sentences.

Here's an example:

"What's not to love? I have a five minute commute and go to work in my pajamas." He pointed to the his flannel pajama pants. No one looking at him would know this 15-year-old was a millionaire.