Ledes & Nut Grafs: New Tools for Better Beginnings

Ledes & Nut GrafsNew Tools

with Margot Lester & Steve Peha

© 2016 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at [email protected]

Session Overview Slug: Write stronger openings

Story: Strong ledes and nut grafs make us want to keep reading

News: The top of the story has never mattered more than now in the noisy, mobile-enable world.

So?: There are more ways to start a story than the 5 Ws


Why We Care About How Stories Start

• Readers are busy people just like you.

• In today’s media-saturated world, it’s hard to get and hold anyone’s attention. When you have it, don’t waste it. You may never get it back.


So?Today’s news consumers want more variety in how content begins, even straight news.

We can no longer rely simply on the 5 Ws to start our stories.


Let’s Use Ledes & Nut Grafs to Write Better Beginnings


LEDE: the top, or introductory, part designed to get readers’ attention and lead them into rest of the piece. Can be a sentence, a graf or a series of grafs, including the nut graf.

Ledes & Nut Grafs


NUT GRAF: the “kernel” or the “why should you care”. Establishes relevance and helps people decide whether to continue reading. Can be a sentence in the first graf or stand on its own. Links the lede to the rest of the story.

Ledes & Nut Grafs


The lede is the set up. It gets you interested with a story or other hook.

The nut graf closes the deal with a distillation of the story or an announcement of what’s to come.

Ledes & Nut Grafs


Lede

+ Nut Graf

Top of Your Story

Ledes & Nut Grafs

The Top of Your Story

This structure was pioneered by Chip Scanlan @ The Poynter Institute.

Slug: 6-word distillation of the story; may become the title or excerpt for online articles.

Story: Broad theme or the main idea – the most important thing the reader needs to know

News: Explanation of what’s new, different or surprising

So?: Context necessary to show readers why they should care, why the content is relevant to them


GOLDEN GRADE: Developers of Carter Terrace hoped to create flat terraces for the affordable senior housing community, but to make the deal pencil, they had to “follow the slope”. “We had to grapple with maximizing an accessible path of travel for people with disabilities on a sloping site,” said developer Ramie Dare.

ith available flat land getting scarcer and more expensive,

some residential developers reckon there’s gold in them thar hills. “These parcels are hard to develop and tend to have more environmental and geological issues, especially on the West Coast,” notes Randy Jackson, president and principal in charge of design for The Planning Center in Costa Mesa, Calif. “So many hillside sites have been passed over until their value has gotten so high that someone goes after them.”

Even if a hillside property sells for less than available flat land, development costs can whittle away profitability.

“You have to address the hassle factor,” Jackson explains. “You’ve got to make sure the challenges and the costs are worth it. Can you get the higher densities and clustering of product to create view people will pay a premium to see?”

For smart developers, the answer is yes — if they follow a few essential steps.

Nut = graf/s that give the reader a reason to keep going.

Lede = first few grafs that set up the story and might deliver some of the news.


GOLDEN GRADE: Developers of Carter Terrace hoped to create flat terraces for the affordable senior housing community, but to make the deal pencil, they had to “follow the slope”. “We had to grapple with maximizing an accessible path of travel for people with disabilities on a sloping site,” said developer Ramie Dare.

Slug

ith available flat land getting scarcer and more expensive,

some residential developers reckon there’s gold in them thar hills. “These parcels are hard to develop and tend to have more environmental and geological issues, especially on the West Coast,” notes Randy Jackson, president and principal in charge of design for The Planning Center in Costa Mesa, Calif. “So many hillside sites have been passed over until their value has gotten so high that someone goes after them.”

Even if a hillside property sells for less than available flat land, development costs can whittle away profitability.



Story

News

So?



Slug


ith available flat land getting scarcer and more expensive, some residential

developers reckon there’s gold in them thar hills.

Story

Hillside development often involves a profitable, but rugged path.


News

So?

Even if a hillside property sells for less than available flat land, development costs can whittle away profitability.”





Our Nut Graf

This approach makes it easier to write all kinds of effective ledes and nut grafs.


25 Ways to Start The Basics

1. Main idea or thesis 2. Crucial or compelling detail or data 3. A challenge to the audience 4. A question or series of questions 5. An opinion or complaint 6. A story or anecdote 7. A list


25 Ways to Start The Question Lede

Nut Graf


25 Ways to Start The Story Lede

Nut Graf


25 Ways to Start More Creative Openings

8. A sound 9. Repetition 10. Extremely strong feelings 11. An exclamation or startling statement 12. A surprise or revelation 13. A quote (but not a literary one) 14. An outlandish statement


25 Ways to Start More Creative Openings

15. A direct statement or challenge to the reader

16. A fast action sequence 17. A description of the setting 18. A scary, exciting or intense moment


25 Ways to Start A Sound


25 Ways to Start An Intense Moment/

Unsettling Description

Nut Graf© 2016 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at [email protected]

25 Ways to Start Literary Ledes

19. A simile or metaphor 20. A fantasy or fairy tale scenario 21. A famous quotation or saying 22. Foreshadowing 23. Unusual imagery 24. The past in present tense 25. Dialog


25 Ways to Start Simile/Metaphor


25 Ways to Start Dialog

Nut Graf © 2016 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at [email protected]

Writing Strategies The Idea-Details™ Strategy

IDEA: The most important thing readers should know.

DETAILS: The examples, explanations and evidence that support your main [One complete sentence,

which might even be the opening to your piece.]

[A bullet list to flesh out later]

EXAMPLE: a familiar model

EXPLANATION: a definition or process

EVIDENCE: a data point, fact or tangible measurement


IDEA: The most important thing readers should know.

DETAILS: The examples, explanations and evidence that support your main Writing college essays is

stressful.20 million people apply to college each year (US DoE) Hard to summarize your life or an important moment in 650 words on CommonApp “I couldn’t relate to any of the prompts” (Adela M.) Future depends on ability to get into a good school


Writing Strategies The Idea-Details™ Strategy

TELL: The most important thing readers should know.

SHOW: Descriptions of how something sounds, feels, smells, looks, etc. May also include emotions.

[One complete sentence, which might even be the opening to your piece.]

[A bullet list to flesh out later]

Writing Strategies The Tell-Show™ Strategy


TELL: The most important thing readers should know.

SHOW: Description using sounds, feels, smells, looks, etc. May also include emotions.

Writing college essays is stressful.

Tears well up Face gets hot Afraid of messing up Hands shake Pulse quickens Hard to breathe Confused by the prompt Taunted by the cursor

Writing Strategies The Tell-Show™ Strategy


Our Nut Graf

Use these strategies to create stronger starts to

your stories.


? ? ? Questions?

Observations? Insights?

? ? ?© 2016 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at [email protected]

Presentation Slides:http://www.slideshare.net/

Margot_Lester


Ledes & Nut GrafsNew Tools

with Margot Lester & Steve Peha

tw: @word_factory | @stevepeha insta: @beabetterwriter

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Ledes & Nut Grafs: New Tools for Better Beginnings