overshadows the other facts in a story. An example, "Thank goodness the washer was full of water," said the Ship’s Serviceman who used the drain hose to put out a laundry fire. g.   Direct   Address.   This   lead   is   aimed directly   at   the   reader   and   makes   the   reader   a collaborator with facts in the story. The lead usually contains the pronouns you or your. For example, "Because a Ship’s Serviceman used the wash water to put out a fire, you will have your whites back in time for liberty on Friday." h.  Freak. The freak lead is the most uncon- ventional of the novel leads. It contains a play on words, alliteration, poetry, or an unusual typographical arrangement.  For  example,  "Smoke-eating  Ship's Serviceman  douses  blaze  in  duds." Story  Bridge In some stories, the transition from the lead to the body can be awkward. To help smooth this transition, you should use a sentence or paragraph to "tie" the lead to the body. This sentence or paragraph can contain detailed information that is not important enough for the lead but is too important to be placed lower  in  the  text.  An  example  of  a  bridge  is  as follows: Lead:  "Smoke-eating  Ship's  Serviceman  dampens disaster  with  washer  drain." Bridge: "Yesterday,  a  smoke-eating  Ship's Serviceman who was running the laundry used the washing machine drain to put out a fire." Story Body The body is the detailed portion of an article that explains the facts of a story. Story  Ending A good ending or conclusion terminates an article in  a  positive  manner.  It  should  leave  the  reader satisfied  that  the  story  was  worth  reading.  Story endings are used more in feature articles than news articles. An example of a story ending is as follows: "Thus, by quick action, the Ship's Serviceman saved the clothing of the crew and stopped a fire that threatened the ship." PICTURE LAYOUT The   picture   layout   is   an   arrangement   of photographs, text, white space, illustrations, and other elements that make up the pages of a newspaper, magazine, or display. The message that you extend to your  readers  should  be  easy  to  read  and  understand. This layout of elements should be such that the reader can follow them in a logical progression. A good layout is INVISIBLE to the reader. When the layout is  visible,  it  is  distracting  to  the  reader  and  the message may be lost. The success or failure of a layout depends on its emotional and visual impact. DIRECTIONAL LINES OF FORCE are the primary elements that cause the reader to flow with or against the story. Directional lines of force are used to build reader interest. When you are laying out a page that is dominated by photographs, such as a picture story or picture essay, the selection of pictures should be determined by the importance and complexity of the story. PRIMARY OPTICAL AREA Since we read text from the left and downward, we have a tendency to first focus our eyes on the upper-left comer of a page or display board. This area is the PRIMARY OPTICAL AREA and should contain an element that attracts your eyes at first glance. DIAGONAL Our  eyes  scan  in  smooth-flowing,  back-and-forth loops.  Attracted  by  appealing  elements,  our  eyes move downward diagonally from the primary optical area  toward  the  bottom-right  area  of  the  page. Typically, this bottom-right area is the ultimate goal of  our  eye  scan  movement.  Once  our  eyes  have reached this area, our mind knows automatically (from habit)  that  the  page  has  ended.  You  must  use elements that appeal to the reader to attract attention away from the diagonal to the comers of your layout. Since the natural tendency of the eye scan is in a downward direction, you should not use elements that cause the scan to backtrack and read higher on the page; for example, a strong leading line that redirects the attention of the reader upward and into an area of the story that has already been read. 1-19