← Patterns / practice
A lede is a hook, written by hand
One line, 140 characters max, that makes someone want the rest. No script can write it.
- Authors
- Michael Staton
- Augmented with
- Claude Code on Claude Opus 5.5
- Tags
- Lede · Writing
What it is
lede
is the line under a title in every list view, card, and share preview. It says why you'd care, not what the thing is (
title
does that).
Why
We once briefed a sweep to write ledes "about three lines long." It produced dozens of good paragraphs, every one clipped mid-sentence in a share card. Prose limits don't constrain writers, human or agent. A number does.
We also tried generating ledes from document bodies. The results were horizontal rules, sentences cut off at "e.g.", and lines ending in a colon. A lede needs someone who has read the doc and judged what's interesting.
How
-
140 characters max; aim for 90 to 130.
-
If it wants to grow, start a Why care? section under the title instead.
-
A stub gets no lede. An empty lede on an empty doc is honest.