Focus on ... openings The opening is the beginning of a piece of writing.
The fi rst few lines of a story tell us a lot about its world. A good opening grabs our attention and motivates us to read on. It gives us a glimpse into the world of the story and the people in it.
A good opening: hooks the reader and grabs their attention may be dramatic or exciting is clear and understandable and uses descriptive language is an interesting introduction to the world of the story.
Read the following openings from 1984 by George Orwell, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
1984 It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
Pride and Prejudice
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
The Kite Runner
I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.
