noblecopy, ledes, newspaper

Creating an article that a reader can’t let go is the end goal all journalists want. Writers, among many other things, want respect for their talents. A reputation as a serious writer that changed the world—to varying degrees—is the main drive many writers want to be etched on their tombstones. To do so they need to write good ledes.

A dream so grand can only become tangible if written properly from start to finish. The beginning of the article, the first two sentences, in fact, are without a doubt the most important in the entire piece. Yet, even some of the most experienced writers still find it troubling to produce interesting ledes. By applying a few key touches to your writing, you will see the ledes improve, which will make the whole article far more interesting.

What is a lede?

For the sake of conversation, a lead and a lede are both the same. Both spellings represent identical purposes when regarding article narratives. They don’t necessarily signify the main idea, nor a thesis, but rather a creative hook that grabs the reader to continue the story. Not all ledes are created equal, though. Some are better than others. Some are used for different types of articles.

A Bad Lede

  • The best way to describe what a good lede has is to first note what it doesn’t have. What a good lede does not possess is a fiction-esque element to its prose. In other words, journalists and writers should stay away from flowery language, too many adjectives and adverbs, and an overall “purple prose” in their ledes (and the entire article). A non-fiction article reporting on, for example, the lousy environment labor workers must endure shouldn’t consist of intricate and poetic sentences that likely will confuse the reader with its own articulation. Instead, the lede should express itself in a straightforward manner, using easy to understand language and present a decent idea of what is to come in the following paragraphs.
  • Another example is to eradicate redundancy. Nobody wants to read fluff. People of the 21st century spend the majority of their time online. They enjoy reading, even if it isn’t a novel or short story. They might not realize it, but they read lots. And because of this, they know—even subconsciously—what interests them and what forces them to jump from that website. Remove the unnecessary words. Get to the point. Make sure each sentence contains only the words that help propel the story forward.
  • Never begin a story with a quote. Even though you might want to and you think it will interest readers, don’t do it. It is quite a gamble. Why? some writers might ask. It seems original, right? NO.

The vast majority of news articles, blog posts, and even fiction stories are not written that way, making readers unable to process the article easily.

It isn’t that a writer couldn’t tell a great story beginning with a quote in his or her lede, it is that most people are not prepared to interpret the article in that way. Think of starting with a quote as telling a story from the inside out. If you read it a few times, you will comprehend it, but likely not right away. It takes time. And one thing readers of digital media don’t have is time.

Another poor lede is starting the article with time.

  • It is not wrong to begin a lede with a specific time or date, per se, but it is very dull and overused. If a date and time must be announced, then I suggest it comes later in the paragraph. Unless time is of monumental importance, then I advise writers to forgo the idea that ledes must incorporate dates. Ninety-nine percent of the time it is a sign of novice writing or laziness.
  • Another instance of a bad lede is writing an article in the first-person tense. Journalism and academic writing virtually forbid writing in the first-person. Stories told through the eyes of the writer (or character) border too much on fiction or informal blog posts about someone’s daily life. Take the art of journalistic writing serious and stick with third-person.

Now the Good Ledes

Now that we have what makes a lede bad, let’s get to the good stuff.

A good lede, the best and most memorable, affects the reader emotionally. If you can connect with the reader this way, you can likely guarantee that not only will they read the entire article, but they will probably follow you as a writer. That is the key.

Let me say it again: Connect with the reader emotionally.

Okay, but how? The best way (and only way) is to know your story.

For example, if you are writing an article about the unfair treatment of labor workers, you might want to start the lede with the unfair conditions they endure and how it affects a specific person. Naming the actual person should not come until the second paragraph and you can build more from there. By beginning the lede with the problem AND an individual who is suffering (or achieving, etc.) it immediately grounds your story in a solid reality that any reader will want to learn more about. They want to read more because people are empathetic and sympathetic to others. They want to know about others lives and what they go through. As a writer, if you can relate to the reader through the people in your lede, then you have just completed the biggest issue you will have. The rest is gravy.

Ledes come in a variety of ways:

  1. Summary: To the point, factual, answers the 5W’s and H. (There is nothing wrong with this, except that is used ad nauseum). Be different. Try something else.
  2. Scenery: Yawn. If I want to read about how the leaves on the trees falling to the earth, I would bury my nose in literary fiction. Unless the falling leaves connect to air pollution from a leaking power plant that you are investigating, don’t use scenery.
  3. Clever Wordplay: Have you ever read a movie review so blistered with unrealistic, hi-tech language that articulates itself to absurdity so badly it becomes impossible to follow? That’s this example. Just stick to simple language and short to medium sentences of one syllable each. Yes, it is difficult. But, you can do it. You shouldn’t have to prove to anyone of your ability to spew out intelligent rhetoric to state what can be said in simple terms.
  4. The Startler: This one comes out swinging with a powerful sentence or two that grabs you. Usually, it is something controversial that makes everyone take notice.
  5. The Storyteller: This hearkens back to connecting emotionally with the reader. If written well, the storyteller approach can weave in the characters, the date, the scene, the problem and with a startling statement in one or two sentences.

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*Another thought: writers don’t know how to end their article. They just get through point after point and then finish. The best articles are the ones that circle around to the beginning. If they mention a person at the beginning of a 2,000-word article and mention him again once in the middle, they will mention him again at the climax to tie up any loose ends. By ending with a person or a topic or anything that was mentioned in the beginning, it creates a conscious closing to the story. It doesn’t leave the reader on a cliff hanger. Instead, circling around to mention the lede, highlights the importance of the lede and therefore, the whole story.

The Circle is Complete

The lede is everything. If you have written a story and you think the lede is weak, redo it. Redo it as often as you need. Once you write a thousand words after the lede, you really don’t have an option to redo it. Whichever lede you choose, make sure that enough information about the upcoming article is available and the information is valuable to the reader.

Check out my other links for my insight into journalistic tips here.

~M