Whenever writers are asked about their craft more often than not, they refer to the importance of reading. When you read, you absorb so much that is essential to the discovery and then refinement of your own personal style. I also use ‘modelling’ as a means of showing students how to create their own narratives. When students can see something effective if not powerful, they can adapt it to suit their own requirements and narrative.
This is the opening to the bestselling novel by Cornelia Funke, The Thief Lord:
‘It was autumn in Venice when Victor first heard of Prosper and Bo.’
Here we have season, place, leading character and mystery: who/what are Prosper and Bo? Context situates characters and readers within certain worlds and with certain expectations generated by these words. Students of English can play with their own contexts and characters and can even just follow Cornelia Funke’ s ‘formula’ in order to create their own openings. This in turn gives clear direction to the rest of the narrative, even if just based somewhat mechanically around the fulfillment of questions about the different aspects of the opening.
* why autumn?
* why Venice, the most ambiguous of cities?
* Who is Victor?
* Who/what are Prosper and Bo?