The way we open a sentence dictates the way that the rest of the sentence will be structured. When we use a variety of openers in our writing, we are better able to develop flow and connect our ideas together.
Some of the approaches we talked about were:
Opening With a Verb
A verb is an action word. They describe the things we do (walk, jump, read, think) and coming in several forms. Depending on your tense, you can open a sentence with nearly any form of a verb. It forces the sentence to become complex, making you connect at least two ideas together.
Running across the quad, Mary raised her arm in a greeting to her best friend.
Sprint, I thought as the next turn approached. The finish line would soon be in sight.
Opening With an Adverb
Adverbs are the words we use to describe what an action is like. They often (but not always) end in -ly and their job is to give the reader more information about the way something is happening.
When you open with an adverb, you must remember to place a comma following the adverb or adverbial phrase and then continue with the rest of your sentence.
Swiftly, the bird dived like a bullet towards the surface of the lake.
Opening With a Preposition
Prepositions allow us to understand the relationship between objects or ideas. They allow a reader to navigate through a scene and understand how things within that scene are related to each other. Using a preposition at the beginning of the sentence means that you have to be sure you have included a verb phrase. Be careful that they do not become incomplete sentences.
Above the bay, the sun beamed down onto the water. Below the surface, the thick fingers of the willow reached for freedom.
Final Note
Always be sure to read each of your sentences carefully when you are editing. Checking that they are clear and complete will help you to better communicate your ideas in any genre of writing. Reading them out loud and listening for errors is often one of the best ways to find your mistakes.
