Monday Sept. 24, 2018 A day; Welcome!
Today--Overview
Example leads
The sunlight swept over the broad grassy square, across the street, and onto our living room rug. In that bright, warm rectangle of light, I practiced my ballet. Ian, my little brother, giggled and dodged around me while I did exercises.
A car stopped outside and Ian rushed to the window. “She’s here! She’s here!” he shouted excitedly. “Paw-paw’s here!” Paw-paw is Chinese for grandmother--for “mother’s mother.”
**In a short story it is important to start close to the main event. It also hints of what will come later (something about her ballet.)
Read the mentor text leads and brainstorm techniques.
Read the openings to the mentor texts at your table with a partner and brainstorm techniques the author used in that opening sentences or two. Compare to the opening sentence hand out. Then compare to your own.
Talk about it with your partner.
I will come around and listen to your discussions.
Further discussion: Do the leads foreshadow and connect to the rest of the story?
Techniques for Crafting Leads
Sometimes stories begin not with a big action but with a small action, which can be against the backdrop of a setting
Some stories begin by conveying a mood, and only afterward does the sequence of actions begin
Sometimes the time and the place are revealed slowly, bit by bit, as the character sees or moves into the setting
Some stories foreshadow a central theme or idea by including a telling image, piece of dialogue, or action.
Work time: Goal and writing time
Before we break for writing, discuss with a partner a writing goal you have for today. As I come around I will ask you what your goal is and how you plan to achieve it.
For instance, do you plan to revise your lead? Continue writing? Make changes from feedback from Friday’s group?
You can use your checklists and mentor texts to help you get ideas.
We will have 20 minutes of writing time. Work towards your goal.
Homework