We have come to the last part
on How to Start a Story. If you want
to, you could check out Part I and Part II.
For third and final segment,
the techniques we will be covering are:
7.
Proverb/Idiom/Famous saying
8.
Unique action
9.
Climax/Create suspense
7. Proverb/Idiom/Famous saying
This one is pretty
straightforward. You begin the story with an a proverb, an idiom or a famous
saying (which also includes quotations from famous people).
The proverb/idiom/famous
saying does not have to be the first sentence of the story, which is a
misconception many pupils have. It can be the first sentence, but it is also
okay as long as it appears in the first paragraph.
Example:
My
parents and teachers told me: It pays to be kind. Innocent me used to believe
it until I learnt the hard way that it is not always the case. Up to now, I
still have the scar to remind me that sometimes, kindness does not pay…
On
that fateful day, my class was ferried to Changi Beach so early in the morning
that when we arrived at the beach, the sun had not fully risen yet…
For this story, I will go on
to describe how there were not enough tongs to go round, and the narrator,
having been taught to be kind, offered his tongs to his classmate. Then the
accident happened. But we don’t want to end the story with the lesson that it
doesn’t pay to be kind; so we have to modify the conclusion a little, like
this:
Even
though I learnt that it does not always pay to be kind, I do not regret lending
the tongs to Sharon. Even if I were to choose again, I would still lend her the
tongs. Even though the gash was deep and it hurt a lot, I felt good inside, because I knew I had done the
right thing. If Sharon had been injured because she did not have the tongs, I
would have felt bad for being selfish. That day, I also learnt that goodness is
reward enough in itself. [Note: it is also possible to end a story
with a proverb/idiom/famous saying.]
The
proverb/idiom/famous saying must be relevant to the story
To be able to use the
proverb/idiom/famous saying effectively and relevantly, you must of course know
enough proverbs/idioms/famous sayings. I found this website for proverbs. It has a rather comprehensive list; just click on the one you are interested in and it will also provide you with the explanation. This one is for idioms, and this one for famous sayings.
For famous sayings, I chose one with short sayings, and the list is short too. A large number of famous sayings deal with topics that are too abstract for primary school children, and would not be useful for the stories that are likely to appear in the PSLE. So use your discretion. If you find that it is not useful, leave it. But if you are a Primary 4 or 5 pupil, and you have free time in the year-end holidays, it would be good to devote one or two afternoons to read through the website and note down the ones that have a good chance of being used in your stories.
If you can’t think of any
proverb/idiom/famous saying that is relevant to the storyline you want to
write, don’t panic. Remember, you have got 8 other ways to begin a story.
8. Unique Introduction
This name is a bit of a
misnomer.
The unique introduction is
actually not all that unique. Let me first explain what it is: it is an action
done by a character or an object in the story. The introduction is called
‘unique introduction’ because it does not fall into one of the techniques that
you find in composition-writing guidebooks on how to begin a composition.
Neither is it taught in schools. But you know what? Many storybooks these days
begin in such a manner. Next time you visit a library, check out the
introduction of as many books as you can. You will see that many modern
storybooks begin with unique introductions (which turns out not to be so unique
after all).
The
advantages of a unique introduction are that:
1. it shows, not tell
2. it is not cliche
Also note that such actions
tend to be mundane actions. Let me illustrate with some examples.
Darryl
stifled a yawn as Mr Chong droned on about what the class needed to pay
attention to when they were collecting the rubbish…
The
bus stopped with a jerk, and there was a collective sigh of gladness —
it had been a long journey from their school to East Coast Park.
Darryl’s
eyes were fixed on the aquamarine sea
while Mr Chong, his form teacher, was telling the class the safety precautions
they should observe while performing their Community Involvement Programme
(CIP) duties.
The underlined actions are
rather common actions that take place in many people’s lives. The idea is to
start the story at a low tension base for the introduction, before raising the
tension for the climax.
Exception: But if you want to
create a hook in your introduction, or if you are using the climax or creating
suspense for your introduction, you could also create a unique introduction
with an action that that is more unusual. (See examples below.)
Pupils who are worried about
writing cliche stories can always begin with a unique introduction. I can assure
you that it is very unlikely someone else will have an introduction that is
similar to yours.
Note: I used to call this
technique the ‘unique action’, but the term was a bit of a misnomer, given that
the actions used are mostly common
actions, so I’ve amended it to ‘unique introduction’, which is slightly more
accurate.
Use
the unique introduction in stories with exciting plots
The diagram above illustrates
the basic form of a story: introduction, climax, conclusion. The base indicates
the initial level of a reader’s interest before reading your story.
As you can see from the
diagram, the unique introduction tends to arouse less reader interest in the
beginning, whereas if you have something gripping like starting with a
climax/creating suspense, you would trigger the reader’s interest right from
the start.
What I’m trying to say is
that if you have a very exciting plot (kidnapping, robbery, car accident) where
the stakes in the story are higher, it is okay to start with a unique action
because the thrilling developments in your story can raise and sustain the
reader’s interest.
However, if your plot is a
little more mundane (breaking Mother’s favourite vase, being late for school, a
trip to the zoo), then you have to work a lot harder to engage your reader’s
interest and it would be in your interest to come up with a more
attention-grabbing introduction (think flashback, climax/creating suspense,
characterisation). From the graph, you can see that for stories where the
stakes are not so high, it is difficult to maintain high interest in the
reader, so it is better to give an introduction that will hook the reader’s
attention right from the start.
That said, I must qualify that
fine writing lifts all plots and can turn even the simplest story into an
engaging one. So if you are such a writer, write as inspiration dictates
(within the confines of PSLE expectations).
9. Climax/Creating Suspense
These are really two different
techniques even through there is some overlap.
Let’s talk about starting with
a climax first.
Climax
A climax is the peak of the
story, so as the name suggests, this technique means to start at the climax of
the story, rather than the introduction.
Such a beginning tends to grab
the reader’s attention and encourage them to read on.
Example:
The
red hot agony bit into Darryl’s little finger so viciously that for a split
second, Darryl was surprised that such excruciation could exist. That momentary
surprise was swiftly overwhelmed by instinct and he bawled at the top of his
voice, a roar of pain and fear. His eyes fell on his finger and widened in
disbelief when he saw a huge crab dangling from his little finger!
*
This introduction raises many
questions in the reader’s mind: How did that crab end up on Darryl’s finger?
How bad were Darryl’s injuries? How would he get rid of the crab? These
questions will hook the reader’s interest and entice him to continue reading.
The
challenge with such an introduction is how to continue after the first
paragraph?
The conventional advice is to
return to the beginning of the story and then follow the usual trajectory of a
story: introduction, climax and conclusion. Note that that means the climax
will appear twice in the story, yes? But please don’t cut and paste the climax
from the introduction, unless you want to heighten the effect of the problem
for dramatic effect. What is usually done is to rephrase the climax: same
event, different words.
Example continuing from * :
No
one had thought that things would turn out like
this. The class had been in a jovial mood that
morning for there would be no lessons. Instead they were going to East Coast
Park for their Community Involvement Programme (CIP). They had been looking forward to it since Mr Chong, their
form teacher, told them about the trip the previous week.
Early
in the morning, they had assembled in school and boarded the bus that…
The pupil must find a logical
and non-disruptive way to go from the climax back to the beginning of the
story. A subtle point to note: The real 5 Ws and 1 H
(introduction) should be in the PAST PERFECT TENSE because the climax itself is
in the SIMPLE PAST TENSE. The change in tenses usually alerts the reader
that the story has travelled back to the beginning.
Creating
suspense
Creating suspense in the
introduction can be done in one of three ways:
1. Introduce a puzzle/riddle
Example:
Darryl
looked at the dark grey object in the sand. He wondered what it was. It looked
hard and gleamed with a matte sheen. Had he found some ancient treasure?
This example also has features
of the climax and unique action.
2. Highlight something that is
unusual; the more jarring the better
Example:
Darryl
scanned his surroundings. His classmates were chattering nineteen to the dozen
as they picked up the rubbish. Mr Chong, the form teacher, was busy supervising
Wei Jia and Fatimah, the two giggliest girls in class. No one was paying any
attention to him. Good. He bent down to pick up the litter, pretending to be
focused on the same task as the rest of the class, not caring what he was
picking up. All his attention was focused on the grey object a few metres in
front.
What
was it? It was grey and gleamed with a matte shine. Was it a treasure? An
antique?
Then you know what happened.
This last example is not really jarring, though you could say that Darryl’s
behaviour was unusual (that is not how a child doing CIP at the beach usually
behaves). But it was the best I could come up with under the constraint of
trying to put up this post by today. So please bear with it.
If you could come
up with a more unusual or jarring example, that would be great. Email me or put
it up in one of the comments below. It would be wonderful if we have these
various examples and all readers would gain by seeing what others have done
with the same conditions.
We have come to the end of the
revision on the various techniques to start a story. I hope you have found the
series of posts useful. If you have any query, feel free to drop me an email at
learningpartnersyishun@gmail.com,
or leave a comment at the bottom of the blog. I look forward to hearing from
you.
Tomorrow, I’ll put up a post
on the sort of stories that are generally accepted in the PSLE and the topics that are taboo.
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