Every story needs a hook. A way to introduce a character that has you sitting on the edge of your seat. Do it wrong and no one really cares what happens. Check out this extract from a Kiwi authors to see how they hook a reader.
Kura Carpenter - The Kingfisher's Debt For the full novel you can get it here.
They go for a shock factor and makes you wonder why they had to tell themselves not to kill people. This is what draws you in. Notice that they tell you details with dialogue, like the fact that they aren't Chinese when they expected a Chinese translator. While other characters don't need much in the way of an introduction. Like the officer. We all know what a policeman looks like so we don't need a drawn out description.
Your task is to pick a historical figure and introduce them with a great hook. Think about what things need to be described, which details can be placed in dialogue. What things don't you need to describe.
How people experience things is different than how someone else might experience the same thing. Look at this extract and how they describe their experiences.
Deryn Pittar - Lutapolii The full novel can be found here.
Notice how they use the senses to describe what is happening.
Now take the historical figure you introduced and put them in a situation that they really faced. You might need to do some research. To push yourself pick someone who would have been there but on the other side of the situation. How does the experience change because it is seen from someone else's eyes?
If you want to go even further re-imagine that historical event as if there was magic involved. How would have changed things?
Standards that can be attempted by this lesson. (note: students will need to produce several pieces of writing for the portfolio and will need to read more than what is suggested here to complete the personal response.)
English - Personal response Level 1 90854
English - Personal response Level 2 91106
History - Perspectives Level 1 91004
English - Creative writing Level 1 90052
English - Writing portfolio Level 2 91101
English - Writing portfolio level 3 91475
