Attention Seeking Behaviour

Tip Of The Day — Day 16– The importance of your first sentence

This is part of a series of daily tips for writers which is published to share ideas and suggestions on our craft. Everyone will have different advice on how to write, so the tip below is just a personal selection which I hope you will find useful, and do share any of your own in the comments.

First. Impressions. Count. Following yesterday’s tip about the importance of a good snappy headline, having grabbed your reader’s attention, the first sentence of your article is nearly as important. A link to yesterday’s tip is below:

Your first sentence needs to be just as gripping. You need to grab the reader by the lapels and seize their attention — no argument!

I sometimes use a single word. Short sentences can create the sensation of breathless excitement, as if creating how we feel if scared, of taking short, shallow breaths. It is what introduces your article, and with modern attention spans reduced to 30 seconds or less by repeated exposure to TikTok and similar reels, it is important to make a good first impression: you never get the chance to make it again.

In the days when I used to interview candidates for jobs, it was usually possible to tell within seconds of them coming into the room whether they were potentially successful material or not: it was a gut instinct. Was the candidate confident, smiling, relaxed? Did they look the part? Would they fit in?

It is the same with an article. First impressions count. So front-load your article with the best material. Of course, ideally you want your reader to consume the whole piece, so save some breadcrumbs to drop along the trail of your article. However, realistically many people will only read the first paragraph or so, and possibly only skim the rest, unless your feature on the lost art of crochet in West Norfolk is outstandingly interesting. In fact, I have probably lost you already by this stage of the article. (Do reassure me in the comments if you are still hanging on in there for a marathon 30-second read!).

So if your headline is snappy, make the first sentence punchy!

I hope you found this article useful, and do share any tips of your own in the comments.

Previous tips:

Day 1- The Notebook

Day 2 — Mind your language — learning new words

Day 3 –Quotations

Day 4 — Dictionary and thesaurus —

Day 5 — Location —

Day 6 — Planning —

Day 7 — Reverse engineering success —

Day 8 — Choosing your subject —

Day 9 — Do your own research —

Day 10 — Niches for Riches —

Day 11 — Layout —

Day 12 — Deadlines —

Day 13 — Making time —

Day 14- Subject selection —

Day 15 — Keep it snappy — headlines —