Story

Starters

A writers guide on how to sell

your story in the first
paragraph (or less)!

Reflective Question

Open with your main

character deep in
thought.

Have you ever

wondered what lives
inside a cloud? To only
be a mass of water
and ice particles
seems so boring for
something that can be
so mysterious,
beautiful, ominous

Scene Setting
This is your basic narrative
technique. The writer creates a picture
for the reader, puts the reader there,
creates a mood, or sets the
atmosphere. The writer must use
specific details to pull off this opening.
When Snoopy was writing his novel,
he never got past the first line: It was
a dark and stormy night.
New Directions in Teaching Memoirs Dawn and Dan
Kirby

Setting the Scene

The ominous empty mansion bled into the

grey storm clouds. Only a few slivers of light
shone through those eerie sky monsters. Three
squawking black birds circled the mansion: a
prelude of what I believed was to come once I
entered

Unique/Shocking Detail
Sometimes a single unique detail can
draw the reader into a much larger
storyInstead of When I fell off my bike
and hurt myself real bad story try I
remember that they brought my tennis
shoe to me in the hospital.
New Directions in Teaching Memoirs Dawn and
Dan Kirby

 My kidnapper only had one and half front

teeth, a detail I will never forget.

Character Throwing

Just throw a character at

the reader right from the
start:
Landry Townshed has to
be the strangest kid in the
whole town of Springfield,
Missouri. He wears a fanny
pack and has a pet parrot
he brings with him
everywhere. He is always
chewing 3 pieces of
Bublicious and never
wears anything but
overalls, which he has in
every shade including pink
and lime green. L.T. I call
him, is my best friend

Media Res: Begin in the middle

of things
I stumbled out of the air

balloon onto an immaculate

white cotton ball of a cloud.
Small puffs of clouds blocked
my view, but I could still see
off in the distance what looked
to be rows of little cottages
iridescently shining. A haze of
cloud dust lingered in the air
everywhere I looked;
although the bright light of
the sun was still visible, I
could not clearly see the sky!

Definition: Define something, in

your own terms, the is the
center of your story

Witch: a person, especially a woman,

who practices black magic; ugly man or
woman.

Action: Begin with an intense

scene
All around me buildings that
once touched the clouds
were collapsing into piles of
rubble and playing dominos
with the buildings next to
them. Entire houses
uprooted from their
foundations and became
instant house boats while
others suddenly
disappeared as the water
submerged them. Not even
the ancient and wise
Sequoias felt safe

Onomatopoeia: Begin with

sound

Small ripples of water splashed up against one

another spattering across Ruby as she glided over
the lake. The chilly breeze whistled in her hears
and weaved in and out of her hair.

Dialogue
"Do you think we will ever
find mom and dad?"
"If I said yes, then we
wouldn't. But if I said no then,
well, what would be the point of
all this?" Boston wearily
answered as he pulled the sails
to catch the evening breeze
that was moving in.

Sentence Fragments/
Fragmentos de Oracin
Dim lamplight. A ticking clock.
Slow, steady breathing. Strange
greenery sprouting from a book
twining itself around the fragile,
limp wrist.
Tenue farol. UN tiempo en el reloj.
Respiracin lenta y constante. Extraa
vegetacin brotando en un libro
twining alrededor del frgil, dbil
mueca.

Alliteration/ Aliteracin

A clearing in the woods revealed a

cumbersome cottage..../ Un claro en el bosque
revel un engorroso casa rural...

Metaphor/Personification
Metfora/Personificacin
Her two bulbous bug eyes
preyed upon me and
melted me to a puddle of
fear.../
Sus dos ojos saltones bug
me depredados y fundido
me a un charco de miedo...

Metaphor/ Metfora
The proverbial snowball
began to roll down the hill
gaining size and
momentum. With each
tumble my life spun more
and more out of control./
La proverbial bola
comenz a rodar en la
colina el aumentar el
tamao y el impulso. Con
cada cada mi vida gira
ms y ms fuera de
control.

Writing is an art.
I can only give tools and tips to make
your writing more creative and lively.
So with that said attempt two different
leads for your next memoir. Write the
technique and the lead on each sticky
note.
Escribir es un arte
slo puedo dar sugerencias y
herramientas para hacer que su escritura
ms creativa.
Una vez que dijo intento dos
derivaciones diferentes para su prxima