Tuesday, 23 September 2014

HOW TO START A STORY AKA HOW TO START A PSLE COMPOSITION PART III

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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