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Story Structure and Strong Openings

Goal Plan a story with a clear structure and a hook at the start.

STRUCTURE

Orientation -- who, where, when (keep it short!)
Complication -- the problem
Rising action -- things get harder
Climax -- the most intense moment
Resolution -- how it ends (it doesn't need to be happy, but it should feel finished)

TIP In a short story, use ONE main character, ONE problem and a small number of settings.

STRONG OPENING TYPES

Action: "I was halfway up the water tower when the ladder groaned."
Dialogue: "'Don't open that,' Gran whispered."
Mystery: "The letter had my name on it, but it was dated fifty years ago."
Setting: "Nothing moved on the salt lake except the heat."

AVOID

"One day ..." / "Hi, my name is ..." / waking up to an alarm
Ending with "... and then I woke up. It was all a dream."

PRACTICE

Write three different opening sentences for a story called "The Last Bus".

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