Once upon a time

Writing about a time when

One thing we can guarantee in the exam it is that any writing to entertain task you get will have the most uninspiring title ever. Heres one:

APPROACH 1 Plan
! First day of school. ! I was scared. ! Met Mr Satchell. ! He gave me a detention. ! We actually got on alright after that.

Write a story with the title The First Day.

See? Like a mouthful of wet bread But there you go, thats how it is and you have to make the best of it you can. You dont have to be the next Philip Pullman to get a good grade, and if you keep your eyes on the examiners prize, you can quickly bring your storywriting up to speed.

Story opening
The rst day I went to secondary school was the rst day I met Mr Satchell. The sky was restless and grey. The corridors were long and grim. I was a bright-eyed kid feeling lost for the rst time in my life. I found my classmates in room 7B. We lined up in rows. We recited our names. We talked about football. We did anything but let on our nervousness. We went to the Maths room and began our rst lesson. Mr Satchell stood and the front of the class and scowled. You, he said, Stand up, boy. I stood up.

Ten tips from examiners reports

1. If you use something that really happened, its easier to keep it all consistent. 2. First-person stories (I) are easier to control. 3. Keep the story connected to the title. 4. Zombie/slasher/horror stories arent popular with examiners. 5. Keep the time-span of the story short and focus on one thing. 6. Try to express feelings in addition to events. 7. Its good to use dialogue if you can write it well. 8. An imaginative opening sentence will create a great rst impression. 9. Two sides of A4 will do it, but plan your time and keep your story balanced. 10. Written accuracy counts for a lot of the marks.

Great opening lines

Call me Ishmael. from Moby Dick by Herman Melville. The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. from Neuromancer by William Gibson. It was the day my grandmother exploded. from The Crow Road by Iain Banks.

Commentary
This opening works because it is genuine and consistent. There is good use of description of the school. There is a mix of sentence types, both shorter and longer. Repetition creates the effect of nervousness. There is dramatic tension, because Mr Satchell is introduced as being big and scary, and we dont know why the writer has been asked to stand up we want to know what happens next.

WEEK 4 www.gcseresult.co.uk

WRITING TO ENTERTAIN

Writing

APPROACH 2 Plan
" The rst day of spring. " Nature emerging. " Go for walks with my Nan. " Having a chat about new beginnings and stuff. " Then she died that evening. " Now I always remember the rst day of spring.

APPROACH 3 Plan
" The rst day of an alien invasion (but the twist is, the humans are the aliens). " Admiral Cosher is leader of the human force. " Thinks humans won on the rst day. " Then the day turns to night, and the Ironiads get super-powerful. " Dont count your chickens til theyve hatched.

Story opening
My nan says the rst day of spring is always a good day, even if its blowy and stormy. She says that you can just tell. So this year, I went out with her for a walk around the park and looked for signs of goodness. The buds on the trees were starting to nudge their way onto the branches. Dogs strained against their owners leashes and little kids in cute coats splashed in puddles. My Nan and I found a bench and started talking. Im very happy today, Hannah. Whys that, Nan? She smiled. Do you remember the rst day I brought you to the park? Not really. It was ten years ago today. Theres no way you can know that. Well, alright, said Nan, wrinkling her nose, ten years ago on the rst day of spring, whatever date that was.

Story opening
The rst day of the alien invasion had gone exactly to plan. Sitting on the steps of the burnt-out library, Admiral Cosher surveyed the ruins with cold blue eyes and blew air through his lips. The rst missile had hit the central data repository. The screams of the ofce personnel and the screech of burning robotics had melded into a desperate howl in the dawn sunshine. The second had struck a tower. Then more and more, falling like deadly drops of rain in the haze of early morning. The Ironiads that had survived had ed and the city was empty. Cosher stood up, smiled, and addressed his troops. Gentlemen. Weve won! He would regret saying that.

Commentary Commentary
This opening works by describing one small situation in detail. It introduces a character (Nan) who has an opinion that we want to nd out more about. It focuses on one particular conversation a great device if you have an ear for natural dialogue. It also sticks to the title in a straightforward way by focusing entirely on the sights and sounds that the writer notices about the rst day of spring. This is a more ambitious answer, but theres no reason not to do a third-person story. Just make sure you dont forget the original story title good planning, as here, will help keep it on track. This opening uses some good techniques, such as delaying telling the reader what side Admiral Cosher is on, and which side has taken the damage from the missiles.

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next week

Writing great magazine articles.

Revision in 12:00 minutes:

Research six great opening lines in ction and look at what makes them work.
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WEEK 4