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Story Start Checklist
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Story Start Checklist
Plan and draft the opening of an original story set around a surf lifesaving club. Use the checklist and activities to make your opening clear, intriguing and ready for a reader.
Build your story opening
A strong opening introduces a character and setting, hints at a problem, and gives the reader a reason to keep going.
1.Which opening is most likely to make a reader curious? Choose one.
- Georgia arrived at the surf club at 4 pm. It was a normal day.
- The rescue radio crackled, although nobody was meant to be on the water.
- The surf club had a blue door and three windows.
2.Read this sentence: “Mele folded the message into her pocket before Tevita could see her shaking hands.” What can you infer about Mele, and which words give you that clue?
3.Complete the sentence with one detail for each sense: “At the surf club, I could hear , see and smell .”
4.Choose the strongest problem to launch a story about a young surf-club volunteer.
- The volunteer cannot find a clean towel.
- A sealed envelope addressed to the club washes up on the beach.
- The volunteer knows where the first-aid kit is kept.
5.Improve this sentence by replacing “went” with a more precise verb and adding one useful detail: “Tevita went to the beach.”
6.Plan a story opening at a surf lifesaving club. Write your main character, when and where the story begins, and the first unusual event or problem.
Sketch the instant your story problem begins. Add one labelled detail that helps show the setting.
Draft and check
Write a short opening paragraph using your plan. Then check each feature before you finish.
7.Write 4–6 sentences. Introduce your character and setting, include a sensory detail, and end with a hook or sign of trouble.
8.True or false: My draft identifies the main character.
TrueFalse
9.True or false: My draft shows where and when the opening happens.
10.True or false: My draft includes at least one specific setting detail.
TrueFalse
11.True or false: I varied my sentence openings.
TrueFalse
12.True or false: I chose precise words.
TrueFalse
13.True or false: I checked capitals, full stops and speech punctuation if I used dialogue.
TrueFalse
14.Choose one sentence from your draft to improve. Copy the original, write your revised version, and explain what you changed.
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