Find a slant - Five ways to write a strong beginning

100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019

Find a slant
Five ways to write a strong beginning

Do not try to write everything about your subject. All subjects are inexhaustible. If you try to write on every aspect of your subject, you will ramble. You will get lost in the writing, your wastebasket will overflow, and you will become a crazy person. Tie yourself to a specific idea about your subject, some aspect that is manageable. That aspect is called the slant. Here are some examples.

Unslanted Idea

Slanted Idea

Stained Glass Windows

The History of Stained Glass Windows


How to Photograph Stained Glass Windows


Stained Glass Windows on Essex Street: Beauty in the City



Absenteeism

The Cost of Absenteeism in This Corporation

The Vietnam War

How Much Did Vietnam Cost Us?


What We Learned from Vietnam


The Vietnam War: Is It Really Over?