User blog:SsVivid/Wikia How-To's/Writing Introduction Paragraphs

Introduction paragraphs are something that have been largely neglected when it comes to this wiki. This is especially true when examining character biographies. As we are at the posting of this page, most introductions are a bare-minimum recitation of nothing but raw statistics. They're one or two sentences of, "Jill is this age and this race. She works as a blacksmith," and that's if there is any introduction at all - it's not unheard of for writers to leave their introduction paragraphs completely blank and just start writing from there, or to make an entirely separate "brief overview" section containing all the information that would normally be in the introduction.

But what should you do?
Wikipedia's Albert Einstein article is a prime example for what a good introduction is. Imagine why you might be glancing to that article as a reader - maybe your child cousin asked you who he was and you want an idea about how to sum the guy up other than "genius." Maybe you're having a brain lapse, like we all do sometimes, and are wondering, "Wait, I know that name, who was he again?" - which is something that someone could think about your character, after all!

As you can see in the Einstein introduction, in addition to telling you the bare basics like his name, the years he was alive, and where he was from, it gives a succinct overview of who he was and why anyone cares. It explains what his profession was, what he as a person was most well-known for, and overall gives a short summary of the most important events of his life. Also important, it doesn't go into complete and full detail; that's what the rest of the article is for.

Why bother?
Just reading the article can tell an editor just about anything he wants to know (within reason) about Einstein. But wait! That article has fifty fully-fleshed sections about his life, career, and reputation. Anyone who's ever experienced the feeling of tl;dr first-hand understands why expecting someone to just read the entire article to get an idea of who someone is. If for some reason a reader is wondering who Einstein is (or your character!), a good intro allows him to could pull up the article, read just the intro, and leave with a good, basic idea of who he was without having to muddle through the entire fifty-section article.