{"id":3869,"date":"2015-06-22T21:20:11","date_gmt":"2015-06-22T21:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/?p=3869"},"modified":"2016-12-06T19:45:50","modified_gmt":"2016-12-07T03:45:50","slug":"kids-writing-workshop-writing-engaging-beginnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/2015\/kids-writing-workshop-writing-engaging-beginnings\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids’ Writing Workshop: Writing Engaging Beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

This month our workshop focused on that cardinal rule of writing: hook ’em with your first sentence! \u00a0The activities we did got the kids writing actual first sentences and getting feedback from their peers. \u00a0Here’s the handout I gave the kids. \u00a0I’m a big believer in drawing inspiration from current, contemporary literature, so I have lots of examples from books in our collection.\u00a0\u00a0I’ve got links to the books’ catalog records so you can request them and check them out!<\/p>\n

Engaging Beginnings<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are obviously more than a few different ways to grab a reader and pull them in with your opening paragraph.\u00a0 But here are some fairly common ones:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Scare the Reader<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The house is falling in.<\/p>\n

    The house is falling in and Danny is falling, knees and elbows crumpling onto the floor, and an earsplitting crash is tearing through the air\u2014that\u2019s surely the roof, breaking in two, about to come pelting down on top of him.<\/p>\n

    —The Book of Storms <\/em><\/a>by Ruth Hatfield<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Tug on the Reader\u2019s Heart Strings<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      It was fun at first, playing house.<\/p>\n

      I made all my own meals.\u00a0 Crackers and cheese, three times a day.<\/p>\n

      —Love, Aubrey<\/em><\/a> by Suzanne LaFleur<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Wilhelmina knew that there were some houses that had glass in every window and locks on the doors.<\/p>\n

      The farmhouse in which she lived was not one of them.<\/p>\n

      —Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms<\/em><\/a> by Katherine Rundell<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Make the Reader Scratch Her Head<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

        On the morning I was scheduled to die, a large barefoot man with a bushy red beard waddled past my house.\u00a0 The thirty-degree temperature didn\u2019t seem to bother him, but he must have had a lousy breakfast, because he let out a burp as loud as a tuba.<\/p>\n

        Belching barefoot giants who look like Vikings are not normal in Belleville, Indiana.\u00a0 But I didn\u2019t really get a chance to see the guy closely.<\/p>\n

        At that moment, I, Jack McKinley, was under attack in my own bedroom.\u00a0 By a flying reptile.<\/p>\n

        —The Colossus Rises <\/em><\/a>by Peter Lerangis<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

         <\/p>\n

        How five crows managed to lift a twenty-pound baby boy into the air was beyond Prue, but that was certainly the least of her worries.\u00a0 In fact, if she were to list her worries right then and there as she sat spellbound on the park bench and watched her little brother, Mac, carried aloft in the talons of these five black crows, puzzling out just how<\/em> this feat was being done would likely come in dead last.\u00a0 First on the list: Her baby brother, her responsibility, was being abducted by birds.\u00a0 A close second: What did they plan on doing with him?<\/em><\/p>\n

        —Wildwood<\/em><\/a> by Colin Meloy<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Open with Conversation<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n

          \u201cWe stay, we starve,\u201d my father says.\u00a0 Baba\u2019s tone is as firm as my grip on my mother, Aai\u2019s, wrist.<\/p>\n

          —Boys Without Names<\/em><\/a> by Kashmira Sheth<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

           <\/p>\n

          \u201cWhat is THIS supposed to mean?\u201d my father demanded as I followed my brother through the front door, our arms full of boxes.\u00a0 My father stalked across the entry hall, waving a slip of paper at me with his good hand.<\/p>\n

          —Absolutely Truly: A Pumpkin Falls Mystery<\/em><\/a> by Heather Vogel Frederick<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

           <\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Speak Directly TO the Reader<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

             <\/p>\n

            We only have a few hours, so listen carefully.<\/p>\n

            If you\u2019re hearing this story, you\u2019re already in danger.\u00a0 Sadie and I might be your only chance.<\/p>\n

            —The Red Pyramid<\/em><\/a> by Rick Riordan<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

             <\/p>\n

            My name is Charlie Joe Jackson, and I hate reading.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re reading this book, you hate reading, too.<\/p>\n

            In fact, you do whatever you can to avoid reading, and the fact that you\u2019re holding a book in your hand right now is kind of shocking.<\/p>\n

            I know exactly how you feel; I\u2019m one of you.<\/p>\n

            Just remember: you are not alone.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get through this together.<\/p>\n

            —Charlie Joe Jackson\u2019s Guide to Not Reading<\/em><\/a> by Tommy Greenwald<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

             <\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Hint at How Ignorant Your Main Character Actually Is (And How He\/She Will Change or Grow)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

               <\/p>\n

              We decided to play a trick on Carlos.\u00a0 \u2018Cause Carlos, he had problems.\u00a0 Lots of \u2018em.\u00a0 Sometimes he was just too annoying, and by the end of seventh grade, we just couldn\u2019t take it anymore.<\/p>\n

              —Carlos is Gonna Get It<\/em><\/a> by Kevin Emerson<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

               <\/p>\n

              All I\u2019ve ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone.\u00a0 For her to back off\u2014you know, just give me some space.<\/p>\n

              —Flipped<\/em><\/a> by Wendelin Van Draanen<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

               <\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Set the Scene (Both<\/em> Setting AND Plot, not one or the other!)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                There is no lake at Camp Green Lake.\u00a0 There once was a very large lake here, the largest lake in Texas.\u00a0 That was over a hundred years ago.\u00a0 Now it is just a dry, flat wasteland.<\/p>\n

                —Holes<\/em><\/a> by Louis Sachar<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Make a Joke (Not<\/em> Recommended Unless You Are Indisputably Good At It!)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                   <\/p>\n

                  Rupert was down in the dumps.\u00a0 Literally.<\/p>\n

                  The garbage from Gliverstoll\u2019s town dump sloshed around his ankles, and piles and piles of trash extended as far as he could see.<\/p>\n

                  —The Only Thing Worse than Witches<\/em><\/a> by Lauren Magaziner<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

                   <\/p>\n

                  I asked the kids which type of beginning was their favorite and then asked them to write two example beginnings for a story, from this list of eight types. \u00a0Each child shared their\u00a0writing and everybody weighed in on which of the two beginnings\u00a0they liked the best. \u00a0Our feedback was given very simply: each of the other kids held up either a letter “A” or letter “B” card to indicate their vote for which of the writer’s two beginning paragraphs appealed the most to them. \u00a0Then we talked about what specifically we liked about our choice.<\/p>\n

                  \"engaging<\/a><\/p>\n

                  I think the activity was really successful–especially as it showed the kids that readers won’t always agree on what style of writing they like best, so you have to take feedback with a grain of salt. \u00a0But an overwhelming preference for A or B was a good sign that one might work better for the broad spectrum of readers out there.<\/p>\n

                  The kids especially enjoyed talking about what they liked in each other’s writing, so I think overall it got a\u00a0“thumbs up”!<\/p>\n

                  \"engaging<\/p>\n

                  But the best is truly yet to come! \u00a0I’m excited to announce we’re going to have author Kirk Scroggs join us for our next workshop on July 31st! \u00a0Please call and let me know how many kids in your party are coming so I can make sure I have enough seats.<\/p>\n

                  \"kirk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  This month our workshop focused on that cardinal rule of writing: hook ’em with your first sentence! \u00a0The activities we did got the kids writing actual first sentences and getting feedback from their peers. \u00a0Here’s the handout I gave the kids. \u00a0I’m a big believer in drawing inspiration from current, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,3,190],"tags":[228],"class_list":["post-3869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","category-staff-picks","category-writing","tag-school-age"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p71KT0-10p","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3869"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3961,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3869\/revisions\/3961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}