Anecdotes: Perfect ways to lead?

An anecdote can be the perfect way to lead readers to the rest of your story. Or the perfect way to lead them away from it.

So what determines whether you use an anecdote, a catchy story with a beginning, middle and ending, as a lead?

First, remember that an anecdotal lead can provide a "real person" to your story and be effective when used correctly. Secondly, it is only one way to lead a story. The other ways include the straight news lead, scene-setting lead and narrative lead. And thirdly, not using an anecdotal lead doesn't mean that you can't use pertinent details, a good ending or any other elements needed for good writing in a story.

To help you in your decision, here are some tips on when to use or not use an anecdotal lead.

Use an anecdotal lead when it:

• Provides a quick link to the main theme of the story. Ask whether the anecdote adds or carries the main theme or focus of the story. And whether it flows into your connecting parts. If so, use one. However, be sure that you get to point of the story quickly, usually within the first three or four paragraphs. This is especially true when your story jumps after only a few paragraphs from Page 1 or a section cover with several stories on it.
  
• Illustrates a major point in your story and provides meaning to the reader until the story's end. This occurs when the person portrayed in the anecdote is described in or talks about a problem or issue. The story then features experts talking about the problem and then returns to the person in the anecdote and his or her response or reaction to what's being done or discussed.
  

Do not use an anecdotal lead when it:

• Lures readers into a story by dangling a great item in front of them and then defrauds by dropping the person in the great item from the rest of the story.
  
• Takes too long to get to the main point or nut graph of the story. With a long anecdote, the reader may begin wondering why it is so important and wander to another story or elsewhere. Oftentimes, the writer is too wordy or hasn't rewritten the lead often enough to shorten the anecdote. Editors then must work with the reporter to rewrite it, delete it or use it somewhere else. (Also, if the anecdote is well-written but too long, it could be used as a sidebar or as an example later in the story.)
  
• When it actually takes away from the focus or theme of your story. Sure, it's a great anecdote, but does it really add to your story or detract from it? If you're unsure, talk with your editor or a peer before writing the lead to determine whether the anecdote is pertinent.
  

Think of an anecdotal lead as if you're a tourist guide choosing between two pathways for readers. The correct one allows readers to walk through your story and its theme easily and with few obstacles. The wrong one provides an immediate obstacle for readers, excites them before they fall off a cliff into a valley of boredom or leaves them wondering what happened to the person who was introduced at the beginning of the pathway.

We've all led readers down the wrong pathways. The best writers, however, learn to choose the correct leads or pathways consistently.