Rewrite exercise
Start with a speaker denying the exact thing the reader should suspect.
Test your versionEdgar Allan Poe · 1843 · Project Gutenberg #2148
The Tell-Tale Heart
True! nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?
hook Strength48
curiosity Gap63
mobile Readability54
shareability44
Pattern
Unstable confession that argues before being accused.
The narrator begins in defense mode. The reader immediately has a question: what did this person do that makes madness relevant?
What to keep
- - A specific signal such as a time, number, place, or name makes it easier to remember.