1/

Your first sentence’s job is to get to the second.

The second’s is to introduce a problem. Yet only so much as to make ‘em nod … then slip effortlessly into the third.

The job of the third sentence is the “rule of three.”

2/

The job of your second paragraph is to agitate the first; to bring into existence one nightmarish subtext:

“You think you know the problem, don’t you? You think you feel how bad it is. But you don’t. It gets worse. So much f****** worse.”

3/

The job of the third paragraph is to state the solution in a single definitive sentence — i.e., thesis. Ask yourself the question: “What is the one thing I want my audience to (1) think, (2) feel, or (3) do?”

Pick one. Just one. Then … answer it on the page.

4/

The job of the fourth paragraph — and the list that follows — is to show your reader a roadmap. To invite into the front-seat beside you. Or better, behind the wheel.

Because, even if they love the destination, nobody wants to ride in a trunk.

5/

Lengthen as needed depending on the size of your content. Or just swap the whole structure out for a flesh-and-blood story.

End of thread.