Copy of Story Openings

Lyra and her daemon moved through the

darkening hall, taking care to keep to one

side, out of sight of the kitchen. The three

great tables that ran the length of the hall

were laid already, the silver and the glass

catching what little light there was, and the

long benches were pulled out ready for

the guests.

Until he was four years old, James Henry

Trotter had a happy life. He lived peacefully

with his mother and father in a beautiful

house beside the sea. There were always

plenty of other children for him to play with,

and there was the sandy beach for him to run

about on, and the ocean to paddle in. It was

the perfect life for a small boy.

One afternoon, when Bruno came home

from school, he was surprised to find Maria,

the family’s maid — who always kept her

head bowed and never looked up from the

carpet — standing in his bedroom, pulling

all his belongings out of the wardrobe and

packing them in four large wooden crates,

even the things he’d hidden at the back

that belonged to him and were nobody else’s business.

If you are interested in stories with

happy endings, you would be better off

reading some other book. In this book,

not only is there no happy ending, there

is no happy beginning and very few happy

things in the middle.

Once there were four children whose

names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.

This story is about something that happened

to them when they were sent away from

London during the war because of the

air-raids.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.

Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends

of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on

or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

Assignment:

The two men appeared out of nowhere, a

few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane.

For a second they stood quite still, wands

directed at each other's chests; then,

recognizing each other, they stowed their

wands beneath their cloaks and started

walking briskly in the same direction.

Learning Objectives

I'd never given much

thought to how I would die -

though I'd had reason enough in the

last few months

- but even if I had, I would not have

imagined it like this.

We are going to read through a variety of story openers.

Write down whether the following captures your attention or not. Do you think these are a good way to begin a story? Why or why not?

• To understand the features used to create effective story openings.
• To identify these features.
• To use these features in your own writing.

The boy with fair hair lowered himself down

the last few feet of rock and began to pick his

way toward the lagoon. Though he had taken

off his school sweater and trailed it now from

one hand, his grey shirt stuck to him and his

hair was plastered to his forehead. All round

him the long scar smashed into the jungle was

a bath of heat. He was clambering heavily

among the creepers and broken trunks when

a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed

upwards with a witch-like cry; and this cry was

echoed by another.

In a future world, North America as we

know it has been destroyed and the continent

is now divided into 12 regions. The capital of

this new nation, Panem, is in the Rocky

Mountains and the remaining districts (1-12)

are spread in descending order throughout

the continent.

Learning Objectives

Narrative Writing

Creating Story Openings

Quiz Answers!

• To analyze a variety of story openings.
• To identify the variety of focuses in the opening of narratives.

Time to check your knowledge!

In your envelope you will find 14

cards that contain story openings.

In pairs, sort these cards into different

categories based on how the

opening is written.

It was April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith slipped through the glass doors of Victory Mansions.

The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it was a coloured poster. It depicted simply a face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.

The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a coloured poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall.

It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of

a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift.

Below is the opening to George Orwell's famous novel '1984.' It has been altered and now belongs in the 'red zone.'

In pairs, you have 3 minutes to think of 5 things you would add to improve this and make it a 'green zone' story opening.

Task

Focus in the opening of narratives.

TASK

• What captures your attention in the following passage?
• What would you add to it, to make it more exciting if you were writing the story? Or do you think it's absolutely perfect?!

• Time to write your own opening line!
• Be creative, and capture attention!
• It only has to be a sentence or two, but it will be marked on how you captured your target audiences attention.
• Good luck!

Assessment

1) What focus does the author describe in the opening?

2) What descriptive writing features did you find? List them and give each an example.

3) What is effective about this story opening?

Opening of Great Expectations.