Short story /Personal reflective Openings

1. Short story /Personal reflective Openings

2. Why is the opening important? • The first few lines of any piece of writing are essential. They are your opportunity to engage someone. This is known as a ‘hook’. Let’s look at hooks and what features of language make them work. ‘It’s hard being left behind. I wait for Henry, not knowing where he is, wondering if he’s okay. It’s hard to be the one who stays. I keep myself busy. Time goes faster that way.’

3. In what way is this an effective opening? ‘The earth seemed to pull away from me. It was the opposite of falling. It was terrifying and it was exciting.’

4. In what way is this an effective opening? • Sentence structure – repetition of ‘it was’ • Contrast/Word Choice – ‘exciting’ ‘terrifying’ • Very little context means the reader is eager to find out what caused these strong emotions. ENIGMA A mysterious opening that deliberately confuses the reader, to make them read on.

5. In what way is this an effective opening? ‘My Rottweiler didn’t really act like a Rottweiler . She would cower from our cat as though it were a lion, and was fussy about eating her dinner unless it was on a china plate.’

6. In what way is this an effective opening? • Word choice – ‘cower’ ‘fussy’ • Contrast between the stereotype of a Rottweiler and the reality of this specific dog. • Humour • Reader will be interested to learn about this unusual animal.CHARACTER An engaging description of an interesting, important or unusual character that is going to feature in the story

7. In what way is this an effective opening? ‘They’re are liars and cowards. I hope I am never a grandparent. They pretend as though you are the most important person in the world – even if you know that you’re not. They let you get away with things that your parents wouldn’t because they’re afraid that to be tarred with the same brush.’

8. In what way is this an effective opening? • Sentence structure – short declarations • Humour • controversial opinion • This opener will intrigue the reader to find out what else the writer has to say about our beloved grandparents. Bold statements A series of thought-provoking statements to get the reader thinking

9. In what way is this an effective opening? “I heard the sonic rip of a military jet, like a giant trowel being dragged through wet concrete, but saw only blue above, a raw and saturated blue that seemed cut from an inner wedge of sky.”

10. In what way is this an effective opening? • Imagery – something that many people will be familiar with (the sound of a jet in the sky). • Described in a vivid and interesting way (5 senses) • This opener will engage the reader as they will be curious as to the significance of the image. IMAGE Description of an important setting/object to paint a picture in the reader’s head

11. In what way is this an effective opening? “You see them,” I overheard the woman say outside Aldi, “with their iPhones and all their iPods at twelve hundred quid a pop. Aye, no job. But Sky and always with a packet of fags in their hands.”

12. In what way is this an effective opening? • Use of dialogue • Humour(?) • The reader would be engaged so as to find out who the woman was speaking to and the context of the conversation. Dialogue An interesting piece of conversation

13. In what way is this an effective opening? Ever wished that you could zip back in time half an hour and, in the moment, deliver that comeback you never thought of? Replace your limp response with the zinger you just thought of?

14. In what way is this an effective opening? • Sentence Structure – rhetorical question • It describes a feeling to which many people can relate. • The reader would be engaged so as to find out who what the ‘zinger’ comeback was, and the context of the conversation. QUESTION Asking the reader a question to involve them

15. List of the techniques detailed. • Enigma • Character • Bold statements • Image • Dialogue • Question