Story Openings

How do we draw readers into our story, making them want more? 

With setting, description, or mood. 

• Rain pelted heavily against the narrow, glazed window. (Birdwing by Rafe Martin)

With a problem. 

• I'm a sweating fat kid standing on the edge of the subway platform staring at the tracks. (Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going)

With the introduction of the main character.

• My name is Elizabeth but no one's ever called me that. (How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff)

With a mystery.

• In the beginning there were thirty-six of them, thirty-six droplets of life so tiny that Eduardo could see them only under a microscope. (The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer)

With dialogue. 

• "Movies don't count," Cooper says. (Swim the Fly by Don Calame)

With an unusual format. 

• Transcript of a microcassette recording:
• Demi: Is it on?
• Sadye: That red light is supposed to glow. (Dramarama by E. Lockhart)

With a killer opening. 

This category defies categories because the openings are so awesomely wonderful.

• We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck. (Feed by M.T. Anderson)

• It is my first morning of high school. I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomachache. (Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson)

These openings are all different, but all make me want to read more. 

Your turn! Reread an opening to a story you've written. Does it draw the reader in? 

With the same story, try writing a different opening, using the above examples as a guide. There's no right way or wrong way--there's only making your readers say, "More, please!" 

Best Friends

Do you have a best friend?

Are there times when you do, and times when you don't? That happens to all of us.

Sometimes we move and lose touch with our best friend. Sometimes our interests change. Your best friend spends most of her time playing hockey, and your new passion is chess. 

Sometimes one of us finds a new best friend. That can hurt. No matter what happens, it's good to talk to someone about it. 

What makes a best friend "best?" 

Write down 5 characteristics that are important to you in a best friend. 

Here's my list:

1. Listens to me. 

2. Laughs at most of the same things. 

3. Likes to do some of the same activities I do--but not all. Even best friends need time apart.

4. Shows kindness to other people and to animals.

5. Surprises me--just when I think I know my best friend really well. 

How about you? In your opinion, what makes a best friend "best?"

Olympics for Writers

I love the winter Olympics. 

It's exciting to watch the athletes go for the gold. Whether they're skiing, skating, snowboarding, bobsledding, curling, running the luge, or doing the half-pipe, the winter Olympians inspire. 

These amazing athletes give it their all, and then find the strength to give even more. 

Strength. Endurance. Perseverance. Wouldn't an Olympic athlete make a great character to write about? 

Try doing just that. Create a fictional character who competes at the Winter Olympics. Which sport does he or she participate in? What motivates this character to practice a sport at the very highest level?

Write a paragraph using a first person "I" point of view. Let your athlete tell us what it's like to win a gold, silver, or bronze medal. 

Or let your character speak about coming so close, but not earning a medal. After all, most athletes at the Olympics don't. But they still keep going. 

I find that inspiring for us writers. We may not win a gold medal, but we keep going, too. Go, writers! 

Writing About the Neighbors

Most of us have neighbors. If we're lucky they're great ones. Maybe they're even our best friends.

But then there are the odd ones.

Neighbors--odd or otherwise--can add some great background to a story we're writing. They may play a minor role, or a major one. Either way, we can make them interesting, quirky, fun, or just plain weird. 

Who lives beyond the white picket fence? Or is that fence a shrub invaded by a colony of army ants? 

Try filling in these details about the neighbors in your story:

• What kind of pet do they have? Can you go beyond the usual cat or dog? What about an alligator named Bessy? 

• What does the neighbors' house look like? Maybe the windows are all round. Or the back door is in the front.

• Do the neighbors have odd habits? Like playing Chopin on the piano at 3 in the morning? Putting out their garbage cans 5 days ahead of time? 

• What kind of visitors come to their house? Does the "insurance salesman" cut their lawn? Does their Uncle Bert arrive in a hearse?  

• What kind of car do they drive? Is it an army tank? Or a VW Beetle painted with psychedelic flowers? 

Have fun creating a portrait of the neighbors to give your story some added background. Then see how your characters react to them. 

Your story may take an unexpected twist and turn--just like the neighbors' odd driveway!