THE LEAD

The lead of a magazine article is similar to the lead of a news story, except it is usually longer and nearly always more difficult to write. The lead may run only one paragraph in length, or it may run as much as 10 percent of the entire article.

Whatever space you allot to your lead, it must accomplish the following objectives:

Indicate the central idea to be conveyed in the article.

Contain a hint of the spirit and movement of the article.

Locate the subject as to time and place.

Show any relation that may exist between the facts and the reader.

Generate enough interest to make the reader want to read the rest of the article.

Leads for magazine articles, like those for news stories, should be written in a manner suitable for the subject matter. The lead is the most important part of a magazine article. If it fails to sustain the readers' interest, they will not read the article. Therefore, many professional writers spend nearly as much time developing a good lead as in writing the remainder of an article. As trite as the expression may be, a good writer knows that "a story well begun is half done."

THE BODY

The title of a magazine article attracts an audience's attention. The lead arouses curiosity, stimulates interest and whets the readers' appetite for more facts. The body of the article must keep the readers interested.

Keeping your audience interested for two or three thousand words is a tough job. To do this, you must weigh every word, every sentence and every paragraph carefully. The facts you use must not only be interesting in themselves, but they must be presented in an interesting manner.

The body of a narrative or personal experience story is probably the easiest to write. All you have to do is relate the details in the order in which they happened. With this approach, you can depend on the action to hold the readers' interest. However, an article that contains no action and only presents straight, factual information is harder to write. Because the facts themselves are constant restrictions, you must use skill and imagination in presenting them. The facts must flow from the article naturally, without awkward pauses or sudden changes in direction.

In all magazine articles, paragraphs should be written so they interlock. The end of one paragraph should lead naturally into the beginning of the next. Transitions should be used in such a manner that the readers are not even aware of them. The key for you to make the body of the article interesting is in appropriately inserting anecdotes, specific examples and hypothetical situations. These devices help illustrate points and emphasize important facts.

THE CONCLUSION

A magazine article should end as dramatically as it began. When appropriate, use an anecdote that typifies the main points presented in the body. Surprise endings also work well. The conclusion should neatly and succinctly tie together all the threads of the article and bring it to a smooth finish. It should make the readers glad they read the article and leave them with the impression you wanted to make when you stated the article's purpose in your outline.