Great Beginnings

Week of February 13—From Beginning to End

Tuesday, February 15—Great Beginnings

Getting a story started seems to be the most difficult thing for many of the student writers I encounter. For me, I can always start a story . . . I can launch into it. My problem is I often don’t know where I’m going! Of course, just because I have a gut feeling about where a story begins, doesn’t mean that’s the best place for it to begin. I once heard Richard Peck say, “You’re only as good as your opening line.” No pressure there, huh?!

When I was doing research on revision strategies for an in-service training I was writing, I discovered something intriguing in Barry Lane’s book How Do You Teach Writing? Lane researched E.B. White’s writing process for Charlotte’s Web and discovered various drafts of the beginning of the book. Take a look:

FIRST DRAFT:

A barn can have a horse in it and a barn can have a cow in it, and a barn can have a hen scratching in the chaff and swallow flyin’ in and out through the door—but if a barn hasn’t got a pig in it, it is hardly worth talk about.

SECOND DRAFT:

Charlotte was a big, gray spider who lived in the doorway of a barn. She was about the size of a gumdrop and she had eight legs and plenty of tricks up her sleeves.

FINAL DRAFT (AS IT APPEARS IN THE BOOK):
“Where’s Papa going with that ax?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

From: How Do You Teach Writing by Barry Lane, pp. 144-145

Lane calls this “starting in the middle” and I like that concept. Why tell everything before the action? Why not start in the middle of the action? But if every book started in this way, that would be boring. We need a larger arsenal of beginning possibilities.

Lisa Wheeler, picture book author extraordinaire, says beginnings can:

1.     Introduce you to characters

2.     Give a peek at things to come

3.     Set the mood or tone

4.     Capture the readers' interest so they want to know more

5.     Give the setting

6.     Or a combination of the above

(To learn more from Lisa, visit her web site and attend one of her Picture Book Boot Camps. http://www.lisawheelerbooks.com/LW/home.html)

From my daily use of mentor texts when teaching writing to children, I’ve discovered some other ways authors begin their books.

1.  BEGIN WITH A STATEMENT OR A FACT

This is Stewart. Your typical, everyday kid. Except—for one thing.

From: Sweet Tooth by Margie Palatini

2. BEGIN WITH A SIMILE OR METAPHOR

It is dark and cool like the inside of a tomb.

From: Monsters by Judith Herbst

3. BEGIN WITH SHORT, CLIPPY SENTENCES

6:32 a.m. This is the farm.

From: The Web Files by Margie Palatini

4. BEGIN WITH A DESCRIPTION WITH ATTRIBUTES

Molly Lou Melon stood just taller than her dog and was the shortest girl in the fourth grade.

From: Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

5. BEGIN WITH SENSORY DETAILS

Jack the cat gathered together everything he needed, then built the perfect nest—dry and cozy and just the right size.

From: The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend

6. BEGIN WITH AN IMPORTANT QUESTION

What is the seashore like?

From: The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow

Bottom line, there is no one way to begin a story. Bottom line #2 . . . never settle for your first draft of a first line. Try different strategies, try beginning in a different place, locate the perfect way to begin each story. If you knew that most people who buy books look at the cover and then open and read the first page to make their purchasing decision, would that make you feel like your first line was important? Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but that is how I decide if I’m interested in a book and want to read on. No pressure, huh?! J

It’s Your Turn!

1.Think of your favorite fairytale—Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and Jill, the old woman who lived in a shoe, and so on. Now try writing new opening lines for your favorite fairytale. Use the outline below to guide you as you play! (Feel free to post some of your best beginnings on COMMENTS!)