Writers often begin a story by stating a conflict or problem that happens in the story.

Writers often begin a story by stating a conflict or problem that happens in the story. We call this adding tension.

Establish Tension in Your Lead

Let’s look at some examples of leads that introduce tension.

Baseball can be fun but it can also be dangerous. I was in fourth grade the day that I found this out. Learning about Baseball Chuck Hatt

When he was nearly thirteen my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee

I understood almost nothing about the woods until it was nearly too late. Woodsong Gary Paulsen

The bear had been their undoing but at the time they all laughed. Lyddie Katherine Patterson

“Your father has met with an accident.” Schoolmaster Dortmeister, his wife by his side, spoke gravely to me in the best parlor of their house in Portland, where I was boarding at school. The Barn Avi

Think of the story you are telling, the personal narrative you are writing. What is the problem in the story that will need to be overcome or about which you will learn a lesson? Write a lead that introduces your readers to the problem at the very beginning of your writing.

I will be coming around to talk with you about your lead. I will also be asking some of you to share the problem in your personal narrative and the way that you introduce it to your readers.

Remember to introduce your readers to the problem in your story right away. This is called creating tension for the reader.

Writers often begin a story by stating a conflict or problem that happens in the story.