Article writers...

[Irene B]

You know when you have a topic and you have done all the research you need and then get ready to write it.....and you just can't get that intro down pat? You know...that hook...that certain 'thing' to get readers to...well...read? 

You sit and experiment and everything just sounds so...blah! And then you can't carry on with the rest and leave it till later...oh no....you HAVE to get it, otherwise nothing else will flow and you end up with a crappy product....so you sit and agonise, have coffee, tickle the keyboard a little more....press the delete button..try again...and for the friggin LIFE of you...it just escapes you....

Well yeah...sitting there. Read through the research a gazillion times (ok I lie) and nada..nothing...zip...zilch. So you utter (albeit silently) a few 4-letter expletives...that does not help either. (Facepalm)

UGH!

Whadaya do if you encounter such scenarios? Of course, there are a number of those who might (smugly) say they are never faced with such a situation. Wonderful. I am glad for you. For the normal human beings...what do you do?

[Nichola L]

It's blank-page syndrome. Go for a walk or a swim and come back to it.

[Irene B]

Can't swim...it's freezing cold on the highveld today...can't fo for a walk....it is raining...BUT!!! I just had a wonderful, warm shower and got started on dinner. And yeah...now the ideas are actually flowing...I am thinking along the terms of : it came upon a midnight dreary....but I think that is a little 'old'. Thinking of going with...Hey yo! Whatsup! Hear 'bout this new....

[Kim F]

I always do any intro last because I'm not sure what I'm introducing until the rest is written. Never occurred to me to write it first. 

[Irene B]

Kim, I suppose it depends on you as a writer or the topic. In this instance, nothing high-brow, more on a flashy note...has to GRAB attention...and the rest is determined, in this case, by the initial tone set. 

[Kim F]

I understand what you're saying - and I'm as highbrow as a sausage roll - but I'd find it easier to grab the right sort of attention after the body copy is sorted.

Plus if you're struggling to open, it makes sense to start somewhere else. 

[Robert James R]

I often switch between writing intros first or last, depending on whether I have a good grasp of how the article will flow specially if I have laid out the outline.

If I ever do encounter this problem, I often read other articles, whether they're in the same niche or not, observe how the intro is made, and try to reformulate it to make it my own.

[Irene B]

I get what you guys are saying...did a little of what James described, started supper, had a shower...and I don't think it looks too shabby.

So by the way...I didn't end up using that 'Yo!"...lol

[Susan M]

I'm in that exact situation at the minute.

I've tried a nap, helped a bit.

Had a walk, got a full paragraph out of that.

I'm now at the, 'just put it all down in one big blob of info' stage, and hope I'll have an epiphany and be able to manipulate it into a masterpiece!

[Jennifer M]

This is why I like technical writing. Dry, bland just get to the point. Had an editor female dog me cuz my intro was too fluffy the other day and told me to get to the point. WELL HOOVER OK