1. Leads are Seeds
“Leads are seeds that help a writer begin to figure out where the plant is growing.”
Barry Lane
Reviser’s Toolbox

2. What are leads?
Leads are not
Topic Sentences
Introductions
Leads are
Organizational tools
Motivational tool
Springboard
Lead us to the endings

3. The Lead Board Ex: “And suddenly everything stops.”
1. Big Potato Leads: jump into the middle of a story
Ex: “And suddenly everything stops.”
Runa by Alison James
2. Snapshot Leads: creates a picture in readers’ minds
“He wore a pale blue uniform, and white gloves that made his hands look enormous. He opened the door of the yellow taxi as gently as an old maid stroking a cat.”
Smart Alec Kill by Raymond Chandler

4. The Lead Board 3. Talking Leads: start it with dialogue
Ex: “ ‘Where is Papa going with that ax?’ said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.”
4. Thinking Leads: start it with a thought
Ex: “As a boy, I never knew where my mother was from – where she was born, who her parents were.”

5. The Lead Board
5. Misleading Leads: set up expectations, the surprise
Ex: “Until Columbus reached the New World the people he called ‘Indians’ lived in peace and harmony with one another. Not so.”
6. Set-up Leads: set-up the action for the whole story in a few sentences
Ex: “This is not a book about my life or yours. It does not hold the secret to success or salvation. It won’t strengthen your self-esteem. I don’t think it will get me on Oprah.”

6. Boring Leads What is the most boring lead?
“In this report I will tell you about….”
“In my English IV class we were assigned…”
“I will be writing about…”
Typical Leads
“According to….”
“The __________________ states that…”

7. Leads in Expository Writing
1. Snapshot: paint a picture to draw in reader
- Boring: “Ice skating is my favorite sport.”
- Better: “It’s ten degrees outside and the river is frozen a foot thick. A lone figure glides along the black ice. The only sound is the scraping of each blade as it bites into the river. That’s me doing my favorite sport, ice skating.”