How to use magazines, stories, and other books to start your paragraphs with a punch.

1. WRITING TIPS
How to start a story, article, or blog
By Debbie Elicksen

2. Get Inspired from Other Writers
• Look at how other authors begin a
chapter, paragraph, or section to get an idea
on how to craft something to make the words
sing off the page. The first line is what grabs
the reader’s attention and makes them want
to read more.

3. Let’s Use This Sports Illustrated Issue
for An Example

4. Hollywood’s Captain Clutch
by Jim Gorant
Derek Jeter is not really a great
player, but thanks to the Yankees’ free-
spending habits, he’s been on a lot of
great teams.

5. Maker’s Mark by Chris Mannix
Let’s talk about the video, the three-minute
mixtape that catapulted a skinny kid with an
oversized game onto the national stage.

6. The Believers by Michael Rosenberg
Ryan Boatright clung to opposing players all
month, and after Monday’s national
championship game, he finally found
somebody to hug him back.

7. X Factor by Lee Jenkins
Wedged between the Toyota Center and the
Salvation Army in downtown Houston is a
sunken basketball court shielded by a
canopy of live oaks.

8. The Best Deal Ever by L. Jon Wertheim
There was no official death notice. The
documents are sealed, there will be no
autopsy.

9. Then Jonathan Was Shot Dead By
Police by L. Jon Wertheim
Tucked away in a neutral corner of
Tallahassee, the Renegade Boxing Club is in a
converted warehouse, accessible only by a dirt
path and spartan even by boxing-gym standards.

10. I Can Quit You Baby by Steve Rushin
The Philadelphia 76ers have given up for
Lent.

11. Compiled by Debbie Elicksen
Email: debbie.elicksen@gmail.com
Website: http://www.freelancepublishing.net/wp/
About Me: http://about.me/debbie.elicksen
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