| Start. Just start – anywhere in the piece. |
| I started out my career as a cadet reporter. When you’re writing for a daily newspaper, one of the most important skills you have to acquire is the ability to craft a great “lead-in” i.e. to grab the reader and draw him in. |
| No matter how much you hone this particular aspect of the craft though, you can still sit and sweat over your introductory paragraph for ages. Especially if you’re addicted to perfection . . . or if your subeditor is. |
| I soon learned that the best way is (after you’ve mapped out your basic structure) to simply start writing the piece . . . just let it roll (I stress – after having first sketched out your basic flow of facts). |
| In my experience, the best lead-in (also known as an “intro”) will reveal itself during the course of the exercise. Thus, you can go back and write it / work on it later – crafting it to perfection if you will. But you won’t have let it stymie your overall progress. |
