1. Narrative Leads & Short Story Structure

2. Why do I need a “lead”?
The lead is critical to the story because it sets the tone, determines the content and direction of the piece, establishes the voice and verb tense, and grabs—or doesn’t– the potential reader.
The lead grounds the writer.
A good lead fuels writing: its makes the rest of the piece easier to write.

3. Why is a good lead important?
Often, storytellers want to provide several paragraphs of background information.
Story readers don’t want a catalog of details; they don’t need a timeline.
They want an inviting story.

4. Types of Narrative Leads
Action: A Main Character Doing Something
Dialogue: A Character or Characters Speaking
Reaction: A Character Thinking

5. Action
“I almost jumped out of my shoes when I saw the bottle laying on the beach. I ran over to it, picked it up, and tried to make out the tiny note I saw inside.”

6. Reaction
“As I wandered silently along the beach, I began observing the beauty of the world around me. The seagulls were singing and full of life. The seashells that scattered the sand were full of the many colors of the ocean. Then, I saw it. There, laying quietly on the beach was a tiny, purple-colored bottle. As I picked it up and exampled the delicate glasswork, I noticed an old, curled piece of notepaper inside. I wondered what it said and could barely wait to pull the microscopic, brown cork from the top of the bottle.”

7. Dialogue
“Mom, do you see that?” I shouted excitedly. I could barely contain my enthusiasm as I raced down the long stretch of beach behind our house. I had never found a bottle before and wondered what was inside it.
“Do you see that?” I asked, pointing to an old, curled note that was contained inside the bottle. “I wonder who wrote it? I bet it was an old sea captain or someone on a deserted island!”
As I pulled the tiny brown cork from the bottle, the scent of sea water and seaweed burned my nose. “Man, this is old!” I said, almost in awe. “I can’t wait to see what it says!”

8. Short Story Structure All stories need: A narrative lead
Main characters
A setting
A problem the main character is facing
A plot that includes a climax
A change in the main character
A resolution

9. The Three Little Pigs Did this story have a good lead?
Who were the main characters?
What was the problem the main characters were facing?
How did the main character(s) change?
What was the resultion of the story?