One in a series of writing tips.
You want to make the best possible first impression when meeting your future in-laws. As you leave, you want them to still feel good about you.
It’s the same with writing.
Starting strongly will strengthen any piece of writing. So will ending strongly.
Many movies nail this approach. The opening minutes of action flicks sock you with crash, boom, kapow(!), and the closing scene of nearly every romcom ends with something like kisses at sunset.
And it works: Grab readers at the top. Leave ’em crying at the end.
Careful writers devote disproportionate time to opening and closing paragraphs – first to snag readers, then to leave them thinking “wow.” It’s time well spent.
This advice will strengthen sentences too. The middle of sentences can be quicksand for reader comprehension. The antidote: put important characters and details near a sentence’s start or end to stick them firmly in readers’ minds.
Writers can’t give star placement to every fact or character, of course. But the most important will shine brightest outside the mushy middle.
Make a lasting impression.
Start strongly. End strongly.
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