I do lots of writing workshops in schools and there is something that is worrying me, which is connected to the NAPLAN writing tests students do. The problem is that there seems to be a formula of sorts taught to students about how to write a narrative story and because of this formula, all stories start to sound and look the same.
It’s great to have tools to help you write but remember all stories are unique and different.
One of the rules taught to students is to open your story with a Sizzling Start. What is a sizzling start? The word ‘sizzle’ implies action and drama and I know teachers often ask for students to include onomatopoeia. Boom, crash, the door exploded inwards. That kind of thing.
Some stories can start like this—action films these days all seem to start with a huge action scene to hook in the viewer. However, all stories are different and not all stories need to start so dramatically. It depends on the story you are telling of course. I think we should focus instead on an interesting start. The first line of your story doesn’t need to sizzle, necessaruily, but it should intrigue us and leave us wanting to read more.
The alarm clock went off and Joanie groaned, covering her head with the pillow.
This, above, is not a sizzling start but it is interesting. Why doesn’t Joanie want to get up? Is it just today or does she not want to get up everyday? The more questions we have, the more we might read on to try and discover the answers.
The beginning I don’t like is when the writer tells you a whole heap of information rather than showing you. For instance:
Daniel was 12 years old. He hated school and loved horses.
That’s a boring start. How could you rewrite this showing or hinting at all of these things?
Daniel turned from the teacher and gazed out the window at the sports oval outside. If only they had a backyard that big at home. Mum and Dad couldn’t complain then. They’d have plenty of room for a horse! Two horses maybe, so they wouldn’t get lonely while Daniel was forced to suffer the long hours at school.
“Daniel, pay attention!” Mr Barker aptly barked.
So, my advice? Don’t worry too much about the sizzling start. Concentrate instead on WHO your story is about and WHAT is going to happen to them. Then, think about WHERE to start this story, introducing us to your character by showing them doing something, not by telling us anything. The thing you show us might be hugely dramatic (they might be hanging from a cliff face) but it doesn’t have to be. They might simply be daydreaming in class …
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