Learn2Write

It's not fair! I used every literary technique under the sun. I puked half the thesaurus in my essay. I even wrote three full pages. But still I don't get an A.

- Every Disappointed Student's Rant

Sometimes even after doing every possible thing right, we just don't get what we feel we deserve. Life is definitely not fair. Fortunately, when it comes to writing, we are in less troubled waters. Students often forget that good writing is also about keeping out elements that make the words on the page lifeless and bore their readers to death. In an attempt to impress others, they are tempted to include all that they know. The result is obvious: the rant mentioned above.

So, let’s find out which is the first of these don’ts on our list.

1. Insipid Openings

"In this essay I will discuss" or "I'm now going to explain" is the bane of examiners. Keeping the introductory lines the same as the question statement is another disaster in the making. They show lack of originality or just plain laziness. Students often forget that the reader already knows the subject matter thanks to the title or question. So, dare to be more original when you start off. Alternatives at your disposal are abundant: anecdotes, shocking statistics, rhetorical questions, dialogue and many more. Click here and here for detailed posts on imaginative openings for your writing.

2. Clichés and Over-used Words

The next on our radar of yawn-inducing writing are timeworn expressions. Hackneyed words are shamelessly boring and as good as forgotten. There is nothing creative about using expressions that have become tired because of repeated use. Take a look at some of these clichéd words:

Over-used words: things, like, stuff, actually, really, basically, very, good, amazing, use, get, well, interesting, so, quite, big, beautiful.

Clichés: as cold as ice, once upon a time, happily ever after, easy as pie, better late than never, black as coal, busy as a bee, fit as a fiddle, forget and forgive, keep an eye on, quiet as a mouse, at the speed of light, think outside the box, tip of the iceberg, as cool as a cucumber.

Ask yourself whether you really need these expressions? If yes, then consult our faithful thesaurus for corresponding synonyms that convey your meaning in a more original way. Remember novelty is the hallmark of A+ writing.

3. Passive Voice 

Dynamic writing demands live action and less of "being told" or "already done." Passive voice makes writing clunky and wordy.

Keen observations about life that often go unnoticed by adults are made by kids. (Passive voice)

Kids make keen observations about life that often go unnoticed by adults. (Active voice)

Notice the difference? Passive voice slows down writing, whereas active voice keeps the momentum going, makes writing resemble spoken language and achieves the desired succinctness. Although not advisable to altogether chuck it in, one can use passive voice to ensure clarity of ideas or to avoid repetitive sentence structure.

4. Rambling

Do not express the same idea in N number of different ways. Repetition of similar ideas is not necessary. Avoid redundancy of words and ideas in your writing.

Now isn't that a waste of words? Why write a saga when you can communicate eloquently using a handful of well-chosen words? Sometimes less is more (sadly, another cliché). Don't test the reader's patience with ineffective repetition, sudden digressions and unnecessary elaboration. They deaden rather than clarify your writing (For constructive repetition, click here). Once you start rambling, the reader knows you are either out of ideas or simply inarticulate. Be precise, snappy and leave the rest to the reader's imagination. Without wasting anymore words, let's move on to the next faux pas.

5. Unvarying Sentence Structure

Same sentence starters are more successful than even the most powerful lullabies in putting the reader to sleep. If consecutive sentences begin with the same nouns or phrases like ‘this is, it is, there is, based on, that is,’ it is time to raise a red flag. Besides being mind-numbing, these generic sentence openings show acute deficiency of writing skills in one.

There have been repeated incidences of customer dissatisfaction. There is a need to recognise our shortcomings.

There have been repeated incidences of customer dissatisfaction. Recognising our shortcomings is the need of the hour. 

6. Weak Organisation

A writer who can't get his act (composition) together impresses no-one. Scattered ideas can turn your writing into a frustrating game of ‘connect the dots to see what you get’ for the reader.  Order your ideas into coherent paragraphs that flow smoothly until you have said ‘goodbye’ to your readers.  Invest constructive time during the planning phase in chalking out a definite body for your ideas. Trust us, it is worth the effort.

We come to the end of six taboos of good writing. Keep them in mind when you write next and see a marked difference in your grades.

Here's the next on our list of well-composed, creatively written articles by our young authors. 

What is that mysterious quality that makes certain lines truly memorable? Why do we remember and cherish those opening words of Marc Antony’s speech so well?“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” (William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar). Antony’s character is legendary for his great oratorical skills. He is able to mesmerize the audience with words that make an immediate impact.

Let’s try to grapple today with the fine art of the rhetoric. It is essential in persuasive writing with students being continually asked to frame rhetorical questions.

Here lies the answer to their immense significance: rhetorical questions are forceful assertions in favour of your argument. They reinstate your cause loud and clear. You may quote statistics, reproduce a famous maxim, rely on universal truism or use some other technique to make your audience consent to your argument.

Rhetoric is a proclamation. Different from traditional sentences, it carries the add-on advantage of sounding more confident. It is the writer’s declaration that something is really the case. The audience is jolted off their comfort zone and urged to heed to what is being delivered.

Therefore, it is important to design your rhetorical questions with utmost creativity. Essentially, oratorical in nature, rhetorical questions must sound well prepared, yet natural. These should be crafted skillfully, sound inspirational, yet connect you with your audience in a tie of intimacy.

Let’s try a hand at some of the techniques of the rhetoric one by one.

1. Statistics: Appalling figures may convey what words cannot. Numbers are always remindful of an abject state of affairs. They ring a bell in the mind of the listeners/readers, as well as substantiate your write-up with well researched data. Here are some examples to assist you in quoting statistics as rhetorical questions.

Do you know that one million children around the world have been diagnosed as malnutritioned by WHO?

Does it surprise you that 25% of the cases registered for eye weakness in children owe to overuse of gadgets?

2. Maxim: Established sayings win sure shot credibility. A maxim is a simple-to-repeat line, quote, rule or advice aiming an individual’s betterment. It is highly motivational and thought provoking in character. For the purpose of your writing, you need to pick a relevant maxim and tweak it to your end.

Isn’t ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’ a well acknowledged truth?

Why aren’t children encouraged to participate without giving a thought to victory first?

3. Universal truism: Let’s now return to the folds of collective knowledge. Generally accepted truths give your answer an edge. Bank on truism and turn it craftily into rhetorical questions.

 Isn’t a decent lifestyle the birth right of every being born on the face of Earth?

4. Quotes: You can always chant the wise words of renowned men, adding a twist of rhetoric to them.

‘Do more than belong: Participate; Do more than believe: Practice; Do more than dream: Work.’ Why do parents forget this age old wisdom to instill in kids an acquisitive attitude?

5. Arresting questions: The last of our tactics seeks to directly relate to your audience. In a one-on-one encounter, you can probe them with regards to the matter at hand.

 Did you plant a tree this year? Are you caring enough for Mother Nature?

 What does it really take to be grateful for a favour, apologize for a mistake and request for an act of kindness? Probably, just ethics!

Hope you utilize the above strategies to formulate rhetorical questions in your persuasive write-ups. Depending on which suits a case the most, choose a trick which garners maximum notice from your audience.

Changing someone’s mind is easier said than done. You need to take out every tool in your persuasive kit to ensnare the reader in the net of your rhetoric. We are already familiar with the requisite ingredients of persuasive writing: rhetorical questions, facts, statistics, anecdotes, inclusive language, emotive language etc. But how many of these do we actually use? Time and again, we come across students picking some at the heavy expense of others. On the other hand, students who ace their creative writing exams give equal emphasis to all the persuasive tools. They know that variety flavours the art of persuasion. Where one technique might fail to impress the audience, the others will surely have them nodding along.

Today’s post is a discussion of such five persuasive techniques that often find themselves on the margins of student writing. Without further ado, let’s begin with the first one on our list.

1. Topic Statement

No, it is not the title of your essay. And no, it is not the summary of your essay. A topic statement is like (key word) a sub-heading for a paragraph, but unlike a heading or sub-heading, it is written in complete Standard English sentences. What is its purpose? To give the reader an idea of what to expect in the paragraph. Typically the first sentence in a paragraph, the topic statement is then elaborated and explained in the subsequent lines.

We know the golden rule for writing: one paragraph for one idea. Often in the mad rush of meeting deadlines, we forget this commandment. The result is a potpourri of ideas: scattered and scrambled. A topic statement gives shape and unity to the paragraph. As a constant reminder, it prevents the writer from going off the track.

Here are some examples:

There are several ways in which plastic bags contribute to the degradation of our      environment. (Topic statement)

First and foremost, plastics release harmful chemicals into the soil and water. (Elaboration)

Taking calculated risks is the secret of a successful venture. (Topic statement)

But a natural fear of the unknown makes people averse to taking risks. (Elaboration)

2. Hyperbole

Exaggeration for effect in persuasive writing shows the urgency of an issue: it refuses to be ignored anymore. Hyperbole infuses humour or a breather in what can otherwise turn out to be a sombre-like-a-funeral writing. It is almost always a highlight of A+ writing and has the audience saying, ‘I know what you mean!’

Check out the following examples:

Bullies can sniff out a vulnerable person from a mile away.

Politicians live on another planet; they are clueless about what ails the people.

Ban homework: Let no child be stooped by stacks of books.

When the shape of your body begins to imitate that of a hamburger, it signals the right time to make a move.

3. Counter-argument

How annoying is it to listen to Mr/Ms "I know it all"? A persuasive essay which does not take its opposition into consideration is a lost case. After all you are writing not to flaunt your skills, but to bring the other side to yours. It is reasonable then to anticipate the queries of a sceptical reader. Counter-arguments make your writing powerful and trustworthy. They show that you have done a thorough groundwork and know what you are talking about.

For an effective rebuttal, first acknowledge the counter argument briefly and fairly. Then offer evidence and reasons to the contrary. Remember to change tracks again using a contracting conjunction or phrase (such as but, however, on the other hand etc.)

Below are some phrases to introduce counter-arguments:

 Indeed it can be argued ... But ....

It can be easily proven ... However ...

Of course it cannot be denied ...On the other hand...

But what about ... Surely ...

You may wonder ... It is understandable ...

Our detractors are quick to point out ... Let’s pause and think ...

4. Repetition

Say it not once, not twice, but thrice if needed. Not all repetition is unnecessary. Drilling and droning are good medicines for wandering minds. However, this must be accomplished in subtle and sophisticated ways. Repetition makes your readers convinced about your sincerity as a writer as well as makes them pause for a moment to ponder upon the topic at hand. The significance of the matter under discussion goes several notches high. You can foreground your cause right away and keep accenting it with a resounding echo.

There can be a number of nifty approaches for repetition. Take a look at these examples for better comprehension:

Triples: A call to action may be repeated thrice in different terms.

Act, contribute, save lives. (Topic: A charity event)

Topic: Good Manners are More Important than Good Grades

Grades, grades, grades! Parents seem to want only that and neglect everything else to achieve those golden figures.

Topic: The Fast Food Industry is Responsible for Obesity

Foods made faster. Foods which make you fatter. Foods that satisfy. But, foods which load you with pounds.

5. Emotive Appeal

An appeal to the sentiments always works wonders. The audience understands the earnestness of a drive and in most cases comes to concede with your arguments. It keeps their motivation high to listen about your cause with a patient ear.

Now, your emotional plea can be made using a number of tactics: clichés, statistics, quotes, personal observations, reasoning and many more.

The examples below will help shed more clarity:

Topic: Importance of donation

Charity is a noble calling. (Truism)

“Charity does not like arithmetic; selfishness worships it.” -- Mason Cooley (Quote)

Topic: Should graffiti be legalized?

Art knoweth no bounds. (Personal observation)

Topic: Homework ruining childhood

Do not nip childhood in the bud. Let it blossom, flourish and show its true colours. (Appeal)

Hope this post helps. Surprise your reader or examiner next time with these five, often overlooked, persuasive techniques.

We present to you a new weekly feature dedicated to showcasing budding literary talent. These commendable pieces have been handpicked on the basis of ideas and tips discussed on our blog. 

The following is a descriptive piece on an animal (Tiger). In this the young writer piques reader curiosity by delaying the introduction of his subject (the tiger) till the end of the paragraph.

The first two paragraphs contain plenty of instances of alliteration.

Note the colourful vocabulary (especially verbs) used for describing the actions of a tiger.

This post is shallow (pun intended); it is all about the surface, the skin. Our object of gaze: animals, a recurring descriptive writing topic in examinations. We are going to do some serious wildlife watching this time.

Nobody can deny that the world would be a dull place without our furry friends. With a mind-boggling variety of colours, patterns and textures, they can be quite a task to describe. ‘A tiger has stripes, a snake has scales and a dear has spots’ can sound just meh. How to present the obvious in novel and engaging ways is a continuing challenge at the heart of descriptive writing. Children struggle with it, and so do adults.

In this post, we attempt to create a rich word bank for a stock of images that describe the patterns and textures of our animal friends. Keeping in mind that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, let’s get started with the first skin type.

Spotted

Many animals in the cat family – cheetah, leopard and jaguar – owe their splendid beauty to their spotted skin or fur. A quick glance at the thesaurus yields some interesting synonyms for spotted: dappled, dotted, peppered, flecked, freckled, sprinkled, speckled, mottled, bedecked etc.

Now we come to the intriguing, and somewhat tricky, part: creating a mesh of these words, together with, strokes of highly sensory language to describe the aforesaid animals:

The blanket of its hazel-coloured fur, embossed with rich black polka dots, radiated grandeur. (Cheetah)

The recesses of rosettes were royal to visualize, whether the beast stood still or was in motion. (Leopard; rosette is the flower or rose pattern characteristic of a leopard’s fur)

Pops of blue, green, golden, and turquoise were daubed in intricate patterns onto its resplendent plumage to imitate the dappled sunlight reflected among the multi-coloured leaves.’ (Peacock)

Let's move onto domestic animals.The dairy cow species – theHolstein Friesian cow – has black and white spots in unique patterns so that no two cows have spots exactly resembling each other’s.

‘Moo, moo,’ cried the timid cow, swinging its tail to and fro, as though the tail’s tip was supposed to mark places on the peculiar maps created by its mottled skin.

Snowy white speckles sparkled in the sun as the hen foraged the ground for grains and worms early out of bed.

Striped

Next, a catalogue of synonyms for striped include barred, stripy, banded, lined, striated, ribbed, streaky, streaked, grooved etc.

Let’s deploy these words to sketch a few animals.

The bright, bold black stripes grooved the amber-orangish base as the tiger attempted to camouflage itself amidst wilderness to cunningly pounce on the prey.

The faded tan streaks were a no match against the glittering twinkle of its dazzling eyes. (Tabby cat)

The striated coat of white and black lines created a picture of ink sprinkled on icy surface. (Zebra)

The charm of the homochromous auburn fur amplified with the solid black bands that barred the entire length of its trunk. (Striped hyena)

Blocks

A peek at the trusty thesaurus this time showcases checkered, cubed, slabbed, gobbets, lumps, blots, wedges etc.

Here we go with our evocative depictions:

The light bronze gobbets were like tangible squares you felt tempted to touch and press like buttons. (Giraffe)

The pitch-black blots glistened on the domed shiny red body of the beetle, appearing like diamonds lying on a silky sheet. (Ladybug)

Scaly

Have you ever wondered how sheets of scales covering the skin of a variety of reptiles often look like detachable structures that would break and fall off any moment as the animals move? These scales find interesting complements in the form of plates, flakes, peels, tiles, scutes, lamina etc.

The turtle popped out its bashful face from beneath the sturdy shield of its scutes.

The fish stopped and shed water, as though separately from each of its silvery flakes.

The devilish crocodile opened its jaw and moved quickly from side to side, making the oblong tiles of hard skin on its body more prominent to the eye.

Monochrome

 Although animals with monochromatic skin lack natural shades and colours, we can certainly use vibrant adjectives to vividly represent them. The archive of synonyms to play with entails unicoloured, piebald, pied, homochromous etc.

Let’s first paint the sketches of the adorable penguin and panda.

The pristine white front was feathery and blubbery, contrasting starkly with the deep black flippers which the penguin spread to take its flight.

The teddy bearish appearance of the cute panda was intimately related to its monochromatic fur which symbolized innocence and purity.

The horse's piebald adult coat was an exotic black, blotched with gleaming patches of white.

The white-black colossal coat of the Orca whale could underestimate the blood thirstiness with which this giant slayer of the waters chased all weaker aquatics.

The pied kingfisher heroically shook its monochromatic plumage, announcing that it was no less a competition in beauty to its colourful counterparts. 

Hope this post helps you to see animal patterns and textures in a new light now.

Let’s pick up where we left off last time. In case you missed it, here it is again: Interesting Ways to Begin a Descriptive Essay (Part 1). We now come to technique number four in our list:

4. Dialogue

“Where's Papa going with that axe?” 

The first line of Charlotte's Web is memorable for its unique take on an opening.

Many cringe at the thought of going through long tedious paragraphs of description right at the beginning. So start off with a dramatic statement to catch the reader at once. Dialogue creates immediacy and proximity between the reader and the writer. The impression that he is in the knowledge of something significant brings the reader in the same room as the writer. 

‘Keep your voices down! This is the library, not a playground,” hissed the stern librarian from behind her desk. (Opening for a descriptive essay on a library)

‘Do not put your hands through the bars. You can't pet it; remember it's a tiger, not a kitten,’ chided the zookeeper. (Opening for a descriptive essay on a tiger).

5. Quote

Begin with a relevant, resonating quote and connect it with your topic in the next line.

‘One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives’ (Euripides)

 ‘I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of Library’  (Jorge Luis Borges)

 ‘A house that does not have one warm, comfy chair in it is soulless’ (May Sarton)

 ‘Tyger Tyger, burning bright, 

In the forests of the night; 

What immortal hand or eye, 

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?’ (William Blake)

6. Synecdoche or Metonymy

 Another way to grab your readers’ attention is to go symbolic. Pick on something essentially characteristic about an object, animal, bird, person or place and build your opening around its description. In other words, you must metaphorise that quality, describing it so well, that it comes to actually represent your subject at hand.

 Pars pro toto– part referring to whole – is the technique so that “tickling the ivories” could refer to playing a piano with your fingers. ‘Ivories’ here stands for the white keys of a piano.

 “His eye met hers as she sat there paler and whiter than anyone in the vast ocean of anxious faces about her.” (The Lady or the Tiger? By Frank R. Stockton)

 In the above line, ‘faces’ refers to rows of people surrounding the protagonist. It’s an example of synecdoche.

 Similarly, for a kitten, the first thing that comes to mind is whiskers, paws and golden furs. So your opening can be something like –

 ‘Cleaning its puny mouth – soiled by milk gulped hurriedly – the delicate pair of paws made the visage spotless once again.’

 However, do not reveal the suspense straight away. Let the reader construe a picture in his mind and guess for himself what you could be describing.

 ‘The rich foliage of majestic feathers, hopped on webbed legs and danced the dance of the rainy season.’

 Here, the tropes or symbols are the feathers and legs, representing a peacock.

 In the same way, you can be more adventurous and pick on the most classic, typical or archetypal elements of your entity to frame your opening.

7. Literary techniques

 The momentum of a well composed write-up keeps going if you make a rich use of figurative techniques. Extensively use HAMOPS or Hyperbole, Alliteration, Metaphor, Onomatopoeia, Personification and Simile.

 Here are a few instances presented for you:

 Personification at openings –

 ‘The wisdom of seventy years of life experience brooded straight in his austere expression. This was Retd. Colonel John Rake, my dearest uncle.’

 Here, wisdom is being personified as it broods or looks straight from the uncle’s expression.

 ‘The predator made a violent attempt, with the strength of a warrior, raising its large torso towards its prey. It was the king of the wild cat family – a vicious tiger – assaulting a weak deer.’

 In the sentence above, the tiger is being personified as it is referred to as a ‘king.’ Moreover, it raises its ‘torso’ which means the upper part of human body. It is compared to a warrior as well.

 ‘The deep, dark ocean sent its brutal waves far and wide, as though to engulf all terrestrials.’

 The ocean is personified as its waves are like brutal arms which would engulf all mortals or humans.

 Metaphor at openings –

 ‘Up in the azure sky, beautiful butterflies fluttered, creating a picturesque collage.’ (Description of a holiday or outing)

 The word ‘collage’ is usually used in the context of art. Here, it’s being used for a group of butterflies. It’s an example of metaphor.

 Alliteration at openings –

 ‘I still remember the sharp sounds of the breaks as our speeding car suddenly came to a screeching halt.’

 So many words begin with ‘s,’ hence it’s alliteration effect.

 Hyperbole at openings –

 ‘We had arrived at our destination. It was the D-day! My school result.’

 Calling the school result day as your D-day is hyperbole, as though it’s a matter of life and death for a student.

8. Zinger

 A zinger is a striking, captivating remark or observation that hooks the audience at once. Additionally, it makes them puzzle over what the narrator exactly means. It is a useful technique to fascinate your readers right at the beginning with your creative abilities.

 Jane Austen’s legendary opening sentence of her novel, Pride and Prejudice reads:

 “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

 This is an example of a satirical remark, tongue-in-cheek mockery, irony or hilarious observation – a zinger. Austen is announcing a socially given reality only to turn it on its head. The idea of arranged marriages as being economic transactions is being targeted and criticized here. She is at first saying: ‘Yes, it’s true that every bachelor who is rich wants a wife’ so that she can actually make fun of this middle class belief. Many middle class parents who have daughters to marry dream of getting their daughters married to rich men and they love to believe that each rich bachelor is looking for a wife which may not be true, but only their false belief. So the novelist is agreeing only to disagree.

Likewise, you can construct openings for the description of a self-smug or self-important uncle or aunt in this way –

 ‘Showering the fountain of his/her greatly respected knowledge on posterity, the chapel of wisdom descended from the staircase.’

 Middle aged men and women like to give advises to younger generations (posterity). The narrator is admitting that their knowledge is ‘greatly respected’ but only on the face of it. In reality, he is mocking this belief that uncles and aunts may have what they say is great for future generations.

9. Candid third-person omniscient narration

 Now we return to the folds of what is classic or the most archetypal in English literature. Omniscient or third person narrator is one of the most typical modes of retelling a story.

 Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield begins with:

 “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o'clock at night.”

 Whether your subject is animate (living) like an animal or inanimate (non-living) like a place, you can make it the all-knowing, straightforward teller of your narrative.

 A busy day in a bank could begin with this line from a third person narrator:

 ‘Buzzing with rows of sulky office goers, tensed elderlies and solemn home-makers,was the most popular and all-time crowded bank of the nation – the Yorkshire Bank.’

 You can describe a library with this opening from a third person narrator:

 ‘This is the scholarly hub of the city, the famous point of learned pursuits –

visited by bookaholics, the daily comers, as well as the occasional readers, like myself.’ 

All you must remember is to capture objects, characters, sentiments or any other kind of entity in a strongly engaging manner. Make them come live. Breathe a new life into your subject with strongly vivid and evocative language. Go uncommon. Use highly out-of-the-box vocabulary which attracts and makes one want to read the whole write-up.

 Also, no run of the mill or clumsy, unrefined sentences. Polish up your opening sentence from all perspectives, as you must do the entire write-up.

Let’s talk about a perennially frustrating conundrum that every writer faces: how do I begin my writing? What are my first words going to be? Where do I find the right words for the idea in my head? We have all been there. Whether we are writing a letter, a story, or an essay, we spend inordinate amounts of time and effort coming up with the perfect line that can catch the reader’s eye. Stephen King in fact claims taking weeks, months, and even years coming up with the perfect opening paragraphs for his work. He compares writing a good opening line to “trying to catch moonbeams in a jar.”

So, what is it about openings that make them so elusive? Why do we fret so much over our first words? The answer probably lies in the truism, “First impression is the last impression.” More so in the world of writing, where the attention span of readers is directly proportionate to the captivating power of the words on the page. A reader in this frenzied, revolutionary age of information is assailed by a myriad of textual forces, all vying for his eye. The first few lines decide whether you have the reader “hooked” or lost forever.

The most important sentence in any article is the first one. If it doesn’t induce the reader to proceed to the second sentence, your article is dead.

                                                                                     William Zinsser (On Writing Well)

A strong hook, also called a lede, keeps readers glued to your writing until they have voraciously devoured every word. Your battle is half won, your success sealed in those first few lines. Once the first stumbling block is overcome, your creative juices flow like the fountain of Pirene.

This post (exclusively on descriptive writing) is going to be the first in a series (not necessarily in a chronological manner) on finding the perfect opening for any genre of writing. A word of caution: the following list is not intended to be a comprehensive compilation. Nobody can put a cap on creativity; these are a few of the tried and tested methods.

Anecdotes, Vignettes or Recollections

Kick off spectacularly by writing a short anecdote or conjuring a memory of the subject. Stories are the universal language of mankind. They contextualise a subject, or in other words, provide flesh and blood to it, pulling the reader into the tangible or the here and now.

An effective anecdote contains details relevant to the rest of the writing and presents them in a vivid fashion (show not tell). To write an anecdote, you need the following ingredients: a focalised event (who, what, where, when) accompanied by the resulting sensations and thoughts. Gather all the mentioned essentials, throw in some sensory words and flavour them with a bit of emotive language to create a rich first impression.

When I think of John, I am always reminded of his big bang entry three years ago in my life. The day had started with the most boring subject: history. Most were trying to stifle their yawns as the new, enthusiastic teacher, unfortunately mistaking our mournful silence for awe, droned on and on about the War of the Roses. The summer heat and the constant hum of history were pulling me into a deep reverie. Bang! The door flung open and brought everyone back from the dead past to the present. A boy with dishevelled auburn hair and half-moon spectacles stood in the doorway, his nose in the air and his beady eyes studying our faces with conspicuous scorn. Despite appearances, he was soon to become my best friend.

John has not much changed since then.  A predilection for being the centre of attraction colours all his actions even now.

If space constraint (three to four hundred words only) is a factor, then rather than writing a full-fledged anecdote, you can create a vivid snapshot (in a line or two) of the most enduring impression of the subject. This image could be the time you lost your first baby tooth or the last time you saw your grandmother.  

A scruffy girl with ugly blue bruises on her knees and a diabolical smile on her freckled  face stood between the burly bullies and my petite, shadowy figure. Anabelle, my best friend, saved me then and forever.

A good descriptive essay balances physical characteristics of a subject with the sensations and memories it evokes. Often, for lack of space or time, one is sacrificed at the cost of the other. Beginning a descriptive piece with an anecdote or a brief recollected image ticks one essential off your list of requisites.

Deferral or Procrastination

Cowering inside a discarded shopping bag and seeking shelter from the pelting rain was a white furry ball of cuteness. It found me. My feline friend, Scooter.

I bit into the succulent ripeness of the apple, savouring its mellow sweetness. When I opened my eyes again to take another bite, I saw a glittering milky pearl surrounded by a couple of ruby red drops. And just like that the endless agony of the last few days was over: I had lost my first tooth.

Note the above given examples. What do they have in common? Answer: delayed introduction of the subject. In both the examples, the reader is left wondering who the author is talking about. You can write one enigmatic paragraph, playing hide and seek with the reader before revealing the identity of the subject in the opening of the second paragraph. An opening that does not provide easy answers instantly piques the reader's curiosity exponentially. The reader has no choice but to get at the bottom of things. (Be careful of stretching this technique beyond the patience of the reader)

In Medias res

Out with the predictable “Once upon a time”; the middle is the new opening. In medias res, a Latin phrase meaning “in the midst of things,” is immensely popular in the literary world as a storytelling technique to defer the subject and tease the reader into unbearable curiosity. In medias res doesn't waste time and space on exposition. It hooks the audience immediately, shoving him into the middle of the action. 

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies doesn’t open with the description of the plane crash; it jumps straight to the action on the island:

The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon.

Gabriel Garcia Marques begins his celebrated novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, not with the founding of the village of Macondo, but with the distant childhood memory of one of the central characters facing a possible death:

Many years later as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buenda was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.

Why not try something similar in a descriptive essay? Begin not at zero coordinates but some way far off on the descriptive scale.

The books were a month overdue. With tremulous hands, I opened the ponderous oak door and stepped into the library. (Opening for a descriptive essay on a library)

So here are a cluster of creative precepts for dynamic openings in descriptive write-ups. In our next blog, we’ll continue the discussion and roll out a couple of techniques more on this topic.