On Writing Well ch.9

Summary

Ch.9 The Lead and the Ending

What's the meaning of the lead?

Lead is sentences or paragraphs that capture the reader immediately and force him to keep reading.

How to hook readers by the lead?

• Providing hard details to keep the readers inquisitive.
• Amplifying the preceding lead and maintaining the pressure. Giving the ending sentence of the paragraph humour or surprise.
• Collecting more material than you will use. Looking for your material everywhere
• Giving your lead a freshness of perception or detail.
• Telling a story.

Note. No firm rules about writing the lead. Just approach the subject in a manner that most naturally suits what they are writing about and who they are.

How to write a good ending?

Slightly surprise and yet seem exactly right.

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Vocabulary

pat

There’s no pat answer.
这个问题不是随随便便就能回答的。pat是敷衍的；过于简单的意思。

discursively

Readers of a literary review expect its writers to start somewhat discursively.
discursive表示散漫的，无层次的。联想到了recursive 递归的。

dwellon, coax, inquisitive

But don’t dwell on the reason. Coax the reader a little more; keep him inquisitive.
dwell on 纠结于，老想着
[造句] Let the painful period pass, there is no need to dwell on the past.
dwell 可表示居住在某地，逗留在某地，e.g. dwell in the hallway.
coax 哄劝，哄骗，to draw, gain, or persuade by means of gentle urging or flattery
e.g. coaxing consumers to buy new cars
inquisitive 好奇的，过分好问的

obsess; minutiae

We are obsessed by the minutiae of the game and nagged for the rest of our lives by the memory of players we once saw play.
obsess 在书里出现了很多次，表示困扰
minutia 细枝末节，琐事，小事，经常以复数形式出现minutiae.

arresting

The five short sentences send the reader on his way quickly and with an arresting thought to take along.
引人注目的，醒目的，有吸引力的
arrest 逮捕，拘留

out in/of left field

There’s a remark from so far out in left field that nobody could see it coming.
(American slang) unexpectedly, odd or strange. Came from the baseball terminology.

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ps. ch.5-6和ch.7-8的笔记因为完成的比较晚，没有来得及分享到群里，有兴趣的朋友可以点进我的主页查看，可以在评论区里交流。