Have you ever thought about the important parts of your story? Stories are supposed to help you capture, engage and retain the reader’s attention. There are sections of your story, I will call “hotspots” and they are:
1. The title or topic.
2. The First paragraph.
3. The last paragraph.
4. The core or center.
Chalkboard drawing- Great Story Strategy
The #title
Is so important these days because the INTERNET is becoming a fast moving consumer good (FMCG), like tissue paper it has a very short lifespan and there are a whole lot of alternatives. So your title needs to check some basic boxes, most people know the usual kind of titles they want to read e.g. information listicles like 5 ways to break a phone.
Examine your title after your first draft, ensure it’s not too short and does not exceed more than 16-25 words. You can use the keywords in your story or post, make sure they appear in the title.
The #First paragraph
Needs to be as engaging as the title, the reader needs to be convinced that his time will not be wasted and the goal of the story, article, post, or essay will meet some or all of their expectations. Don’t go into full details here yet, provide the most significant “why” in this part. The reader wants to have a reason to continue.
The #Last paragraph
Almost seems like the time the writer just wants to run away, close the post and say bye. This is, however, the most significant part where you lure the reader into a part of the story for future action. Do you want the reader to follow your story, subscribe to your blog, purchase the full book, then a “call-to-action” fits in this part. Always find a way to make the reader see themselves as part of a bigger event and don’t just pull off abruptly.
The #Core
Most times fits on somewhere in the center of the story, it’s a pervasive idea that follows the reader throughout the reading. The theme for your story can be derived from the core, it is the after taste that the reader has many months or years after reading your story.
You know these ideas cannot effectively be mastered without practice and we have been ecstatic about the entries we get on cfwriterz.com. Our group is getting bigger and we look forward to publishing stories that deliver effective ideas on the web.
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