Techniques for Establishing the Situation

     When readers choose a book, they can tell by reading the first few lines whether or not they'll like it. When planning your narrative, you'll need to hook your readers by capturing their attention and establishing a situation that will inform the reader what the book will be about.  Situations will introduce the main character and tension or experience they will live through. After listening to few examples by authors, we'll try this with our own writing.

Here is a list of techniques that you can try in your writing:

• Direct Statement:  On Saturday I was hiking with Tomas and Karl and we ran across a skunk.

• Dialogue:  "Do you smell something?"  Karl asked, "Oh, No! Skunnnnk!" Thomas shouted!

• "Draw-in" question:  Have you ever ridden in a very small car with tow yellow labs who have just been sprayed by a skunk?

• Fact-based question:  Did you know that skunks spray in order to keep off predators? They can spray 10 to 15 feet.  And did you also know that skunks can see a dog as predator?

• Fact or detail:  Skunks can spray from ten to fifteen feet!

• Snapshot:  Everything seemed to stop at the same time.  Karl stopped walking.  Tomas stopped talking.  The dogs disappeared into the brush.

• Connection to the audience:  If you have ever gong driving in the country, you might have smelled a skunk.  You know it when you smell it.

• Series of words:  Dogs.  Skunk.  Not a good mix.

• Observation from the senses:  Think sewage.  No, worse. Think rotten garbage.  No, worse.  Try skunk.

*Taken from Gretchen Owocki's book The Common Core Writing Book