100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019

Don’t make promises you can’t keep
Five ways to write a strong beginning

Science has found a cure for cancer.

Is that a good lead? It is if science has found a cure for cancer. But it’s not a good lead if the writer goes on to write, “Of course, nothing is definite yet,” and “Dr. Inman’s theories have not been fully tested,” and “The serum has never been tried on human beings.” Then the lead becomes a trick, a dishonest way of getting the readers into the story, and they will feel cheated after reading the article.

A lead is not strong if it does not deliver on the promises it makes. Anybody can write a lead that will attract attention, but if the lead is not supported by what follows, it will do more harm than good.