TYPES OF

LEADS

INTRODUCTION LEAD

the story starts out by introducing the characters or the setting

“Princess Miserella was a beautiful princess if you counted her eyes and nose and mouth and all the way down to her toes. But inside, where it was hard to see, she was the meanest, wickedest and most worthless princess around.”

from Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen

SNAPSHOT LEADthe story starts with a show-not-tell description

“Abraham Lincoln wasn't the sort of man who could lose himself in a crowd.  After all, he stood 6 foot, four inches tall, and to top it off he wore a high silk hat.  His height was mostly in his long bony legs, and when he sat in a chair he seemed no taller than anyone else.  It was only when he stood up that he towered above other men.”

from Lincoln: a Photobiography by Russell Freedman

“Sally is the girl with eyes like Egypt and nylons the color of smoke. The boys at school think she’s beautiful because her hair in shiny black like raven feathers and when she laughs, she flicks her hair back like a satin shawl over her shoulder and laughs.”

from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

TALKING LEADthe story starts with dialogue

"Where's Papa going with that ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

from Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

START-IN-THE-MIDDLE

story starts in the middle of the memory...the reader may be confused at first

“She met him at a dance. Pretty too, and young. Said he worked in a restaurant, but she can’t remember which one. Geraldo. That’s all. Green pants and Saturday shirt. Geraldo. That’s what he told her.”

from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

DRAMATIC LEADthe story starts in a shocking or unusual way

“If you give me five dollars I will be your friend forever.”

from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

"Where's Papa going with that ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

from Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White