WRITING EXERCISE #3

My Daily 1FS: Wiping her eyes, taking one last huge deep breath, she stepped out of the bathroom stall, looked in the mirror and said confidently but quietly, "I can do this! I can do this!" and walked back to her desk.

PART I. BEGINNINGS
Chapter 3) WAYS TO BEGIN A STORY
There are many different means a writer might use to begin a story, and the problem is to choose one that most appropriately raises the curtain on the narrative to follow. Ask yourself such questions as these:
* Do I want my story to open with the sound of voices as people discuss something about their lives?
* Or do I want to bring one important character forward into the descriptive spotlight and let the reader have a good, long look at her before action begins?
* Or do I want to begin with an activity--one person, or more than one, engaged in doing something that will be significant for the story to follow?
To judge these three possible openings, the writer might then ask questions of the unwritten story:
* Story, are you going to be about some involvement of people and their attitudes and opinions; are the ways they voice their thoughts going to be important?
* Or, Story, are you going to concern yourself with the traits, ideas, experiences, and emotions of one person who must seize the reader's imagination at once?
* Or are you going to be involved with an event--or events--in which the characters take part, and thus you want an opening that shows actions?

EXERCISE: This one is in two parts. First experiment with different types of openings for different stories until you feel comfortable with the technique of each. Then see how many ways there are to open one particular story you have in mind. How does the story change when the opening changes from a generalization to a line of dialogue?

OBJECTIVE: To see how experimenting with several ways of opening your story can lead you to a better understanding of whose story it is, and what the focus of the story will be.

My Writing Exercise #3: (I may have to come back to this)