improve your writing - openers_powerpoint

8/13/2019 Improve Your Writing - Openers_powerpoint

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One of the most common ways to start a

sentence is to begin with the thing being

described as subject (first word).

So we start with ‘the...’, or ‘she/he/it...’,

followed by the verb (action).

E.g.: The dark and mysterious strangerdisappeared behind the tombstones ...



This way of structuring the

sentence can get very boring...The dark stranger was very tall.

He (the stranger again) ran around the corner

before entering the cemetery.His (the stranger's ) cloak was flying behind him as

he vanished into the crypt.



How to make your writing more

interesting

Use a variety of sentence openers

Avoid "boring" words and look for

synonyms.

Note that examples given further are voluntarily exaggerated to help

you pick up the idea quickly



Use an adverb (-‘ly’) as anopening word

Swiftly, the dark and lanky strangerslinked down the alleyway, wrapped in

his crimson cloak...



Open your sentence with

words indicating location:

Along the canal towpath , the dark

and lanky stranger ambled silently,ready to swoop on his prey...



Start the sentence using

a word ending in “ing”:

Ambling along the canal tow pathtowards the cemetery, the dark

stranger spotted his first victim...



Try to make a 'comma

sandwich':

The stranger, dark and lanky,ambled along the canal towpath

searching for a prey...



Use a variety of sentence

lengths, from short and punchy,to more complex:

She froze.They waited.

She fell to the ground, with a thud.



Use ‘although’, or ‘despite’

as a sentence starter:

Although he was injured, the stranger managed to

escape through the deserted canal towpaths

which criss-crossed the city...

Despite his injuries, the stranger was able to escape

through the deserted canal towpaths...



Open using a word

ending in –ed:

Terrified, Winifred darted out

of the path of her pursuer...



Use a simile:

The stranger approached his target

like a stealthy cat stalking its prey...

The stranger moved as smoothly as a

snake glides through the water...



Use alliteration:

Ragged, rough and rank, the

stranger closed in on the

maid walking alone down thedark alley...



Use sentences of three,

for impact:She staggered home, yanked off

her painful shoes, and made

herself a cup of tea ...



Speech, followed by action

with an ‘ing’ clause:

“Help!”, she screamed,tripping on the slimy

cobblestones..



Use personification:

The moon peeped meekly frombehind the sullen night

clouds...



Use time: including time of

day, season, andtemperature:

Around eleven, on an icy winter

night...



Start with a name:

Detective Mascarpone didn’t

believe a single word of the

devious criminal’s story...



Start with a question:

“ re you sure it's safe to walk by the

canal tonight?” asked anxious

Winifred to her new boyfriend.



Start with a wish:

Why couldn’t she be lying safely

wrapped in her fluffy duvet insteadof here bleeding into the slush and

snow of the canal towpath...



Describe the scene:

On the edge of town stood aderelict building that no one

ever dared enter, on the edge of

Saint Mildred's cemetery...



Introduce a new character:

His name was Marvyn Strutt and

everyone realised there was

something strange about him right

from the beginning...



Begin a sentence with

dramatic action:

The gun fired as the stranger wrapped in his cloak. He leaptthrough the window in escape and

disappeared in Bleeding Heart Yard...

improve your writing - openers_powerpoint

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