1. Dialogue Lead - “Start your writing with characters speaking. This can help reveal character traits or begin to set up the problem in the story.” “There’s nobody to play with,” I complained. “She doesn’t even have a T.V.” - The Raft by Jim LaMarche “Where’s Papa going with that axe?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. - Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White Peter stood at the front door of his grandfather’s house. “You’re the best grandpa that ever was,” he said. “Can I move in with you?” “Move in with me? What happened this time?” - Your Dad Was Just Like You by Dolores Johnson Image/Setting Lead – “This type of lead paints an immediate picture and creates a world the reader can step into.” On a summer evening, I looked up from dinner, through the open window to the backyard. - Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe Through the school bus window, Unhei looked out at the strange buildings and houses on the way to her new school. It was her first day, and she was both nervous and excited. - The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi Molly and Ben were best friends. They lived in a two-family house. Molly lived with her father and mother on the ground floor. Ben lived with his father and his aunt one flight up. They all shared a front stoop and a backyard. - You’re Not My Best Friend Anymore by Charlotte Pomerantz It was one of those super-duper-cold Saturdays. One of those days that when you breathed out your breath it kind of hung frozen in the air like a hunk of smoke and you could walk along and look exactly like a train blowing out big, fat, white puffs of smoke. It was so cold that if you were stupid enough to go outside your eyes would automatically blink a thousand times all by themselves, probably so the juice inside of them wouldn’t freeze up. It was so cold that if you spit, the slob would be an ice cube before it hit the ground. It was about a zillion degrees below zero. - Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis Action Lead – “Show your character doing something with the plot. Reveal some of the plot in the lead.” Here we go again. We were all standing in line waiting for breakfast when one of the caseworkers came in and tap-tap-tapped down the line. Uh-oh, this meant bad news, either they’d found a foster home for somebody or somebody was about to get paddled. All the kids watched the woman as she moved along the line, her high-heeled shoes sounding like little firecrackers going off on the wooden floor. - Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis