Artist credit: Imelda Hinojosa

For the inaugural issue of this magazine and the inaugural edition of this column about writing, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about beginnings. Some people call the beginning of an article the opening, some the hook, others the lead (or lede if you were taught by an old-school journalism professor like I was). Whatever you call it, the beginning of a story is what draws the reader in. It gives them some idea of what you are going to talk about, as well as the tone they can expect and maybe some of the questions you will answer.

There are many ways to construct the opening of your article, and it depends a great deal on the type of article you are writing what kind of opening you will use. The traditional news lead, based on the old "inverted pyramid" style, attempts to answer as much of the who, what, when, where, why and how as possible in a few words. "The mayor of Westville resigned at a news conference yesterday amid allegations that he paid for his personal automobile with city funds," for example, gives you who, what, when, where and a little bit of why and how in just 22 words.

An alternative version of the news lead is to state a fact that will interest or shock your readers: "Three-quarters of all women surveyed recently said they have fantasies about killing their boss." You don't get to as many of the who, what, when, where, why, how questions this way but it can be a good way to draw readers in when you're writing about something surprising.

The news lead is great for basic news stories. If you're covering a city council meeting for a local newspaper or revealing the findings of a scientific study, this no-nonsense style is the way to go. It is simple, conveys a lot of information, and gives your readers a quick summary as well as highlighting topics you might elaborate on later in the story. It's not fancy, but it gets the job done.

But let's say you're not writing a news story for your hometown newspaper. What other opening options do you have? Another common technique is often called the feature or narrative lead, which starts the article off with a personal story or anecdote that draws the reader into the story without saying exactly what the story is about. An example of this might be something like: "Mary Gilbert knew something was wrong when she woke up four days after the birth of her son and couldn't feel her legs." This lead promises a dramatic story about whatever disease was plaguing poor Mary, and hopefully some kind of positive resolution and information of what you can do should such a fate befall you.

Not all feature leads have to be dramatic, of course. These openings can also set the scene for a story that otherwise might not be very exciting but becomes more interesting when people are brought into it. A story about a park cleanup, for instance, might begin with something like: "Julie Miller was sick of taking her kids to play in a dirty playground. The ground was always littered with beer cans, food wrappers and other trash. Instead of just being annoyed, she decided to do something about it." These stories don't always have to start with a person's name, that's just a good way to get a reader into a story because they can identify with a person better than just with an idea.

These are the two main kinds of introductions you will see in newspapers and magazines. There are a lot of possible variations, and many ways that people try to vary them that are not always successful. There are few real rules when it comes to writing, but I think there are a couple of things you should never do in your lead if you want people to read your story.

First off, don't start with a question, as in "Where have all the library books gone? Jonestown Public Library wants to know, too" (obviously a bad example, but you see what I mean). Writers are supposed to answer questions, not ask them. If you can't think of a better way to start your article you probably need to do more research.

Another no-no opening is the dictionary definition lead: "Webster's defines love as a deep and tender feeling of affection. The animal shelter hopes people will feel love for their animals as it prepares for the annual parade of pets." If you can't find a more interesting way to get into the story you need to tell, take some time away from it and see if you can add a person to the story or do something to make it grab people's attention. Trust me, there is nothing attention grabbing about the dictionary.

A final lead format that is often popular with beginning writers is the quote lead: "'It was the most amazing experience of my life,' 10-year-old Lanesville resident Maria Lopez said of meeting her hero, J.K. Rowling." I won't say you should never, ever use a quote as your opening, but it had better be a pretty darn good quote. I think every journalism teacher has his/her one quote lead that he/she would allow. In high school my teacher said his was from a KKK leader: "I'm ecstatic. I don't know how to spell it, but that's what I am," because it says something about this person and is not the way you expect people to talk when they know they are being quoted.

Perhaps the best way to find the perfect introduction for your story is to try several different styles of leads. The most fun I ever had in my news reporting class in college was the day the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky story broke and we spent the class period writing leads, each one beginning with a different "W": who, what, when, where and why. The emphasis on each one made the story a little different, and the same would be true if we had used a narrative lead style.

Writing a good introduction to your story is important because it draws the reader (and the editor) in and makes them want to keep reading. Take the time to craft the perfect lead and the rest of your story will fall into place easily. This takes some effort in the beginning, but as you write more you will begin to see the right beginning in your head before you even sit down to write.