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[Coop and Dino singing]

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“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

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How does that line make you feel? A bit spooked, perhaps? [Woman looking spooked]

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After all, what kind of a weirdo is putting the number thirteen on his clock?

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If it sounds familiar, it may be because it’s the opening line from George Orwell's famous novel, 1984. [George Orwell's novel closes]

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“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

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You’re probably familiar with hobbits thanks to the Lord of the Rings films, but imagine [Man sleeping on a couch]

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you'd never seen them, and you just picked up J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for the first time ever.

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Instantly, the book makes you want to know, “What sort of creature would live in a hole in the ground? [Hobbit walks through a door]

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What’s wrong with these hobbit folks?

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Do they have an aversion to sunlight or something?”

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All right. Finally, listen to this line from Ford Madox Ford's classic 1915 novel, The Good Soldier. [The Good Soldier novel opens]

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“This is the saddest story I have ever heard.”

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Even if you aren't a big fan of stories that depress the heck out of you, doesn’t that

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line make you at least a little bit curious about what might come next? [Man sleeping on a couch wakes up and sits up]

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These three passages are all the first lines from famous novels. And part of the reason

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they're so powerful is that they leave the reader wanting more.

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Of course, ripping out the last five pages will do the trick, too, but…this way is much more effective.

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All of this goes to show exactly how important introductions are in your writing. [1984, The Hobbit and The Good Soldier novels]

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After all, introductions are what make us choose which books we want to read, which

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movies we want to see, and which television shows to keep tuning into each week. [Coop discussing introductions]

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Or…binge-watching, or whatever.

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If you've ever seen a movie trailer, and we're sure you have,

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you’ve basically seen an introduction to the movie.

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In the shortest time possible, a trailer tells us what a movie is about, and roughly what [Dino explaining movie trailers]

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we can expect, so we can decide if we want to see it or not.

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When you're writing something you hope others will want to read – and really, isn't that the point? [Girl reading a book in a library]

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- you should think of your opening introduction as a movie trailer. It's where

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you let your reader know what your writing is all about. To rope ‘em in, if you can. [Girl gripped by rope and pulled away]

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It's for this reason that your introduction should be strong, compelling, and enticing.

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It should leave your reader excited and wanting more. [Girl reading a book behind a man riding a horse]

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Engaging introductions should make us feel interested, incite emotions, and make us care

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about the characters… or simply leave us wondering what might possibly happen next.

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Let's say you’re writing a biography about Benjamin Franklin and

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want to make your introduction as compelling as possible. [Benjamin Franklin on a 100 dollar bill]

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You wouldn't want to simply begin with...

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“Benjamin Franklin was a man born in 1706.

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He did a lot of things throughout his lifetime before dying in 1790.”

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Fascinating.

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This intro gets to the point and introduces your character, but does it really make the

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reader feel, care or want more? Not so much. [Boy sat at a table with introduction to Benjamin Franklin]

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Instead, try to draw the reader in with something interesting and dramatic, like...

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“Swirling, dark clouds cast shadows on the rain-drenched earth below. But while most

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rational people hid away in their homes, one man by the name of Benjamin Franklin stood

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outside and begged for lightning to strike.”

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This introduction begins with the story of Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment, and unlike

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our previous example, it draws the reader in and makes them want to read onward. [Boy holding an umbrella]

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Who IS this mysterious man with an apparent death wish?

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One last example. Imagine you walked into a restaurant and they handed you a menu. [Waiter hands a girl a menu]

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If the first thing on the menu was a Deluxe Cheeseburger with Pickles, Onions and a side

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of Fries and Gravy, well, you're likely to stick around and keep reading the menu because

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that first item sounds delicious. [Girl excitedly looks at a menu]

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But if the first thing you saw on the menu was chopped liver with a side of pickled eggs,

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you're probably sprinting for the nearest exit, right? [Girl running away from a restaurant]

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It's the same thing with writing – start strong to get your readers hooked.

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And never, ever mentioned pickled eggs…

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