Skills sharing, suggestion collection, four-element start-up method

A good beginning is half the battle. The first time I shared my skills, I chose the "four elements start method". There are two reasons. First, because the "four elements starting method" is a skill that I have trained for a long time and used many times, I shared it well. Second, because this method has a wide range of applications, it can be applied at the beginning of press releases, novels and essays.

The "four elements" in the "four elements beginning method" refer to description, introduction, narration and background respectively. In the process of writing, as long as we grasp the appropriate rhythm, divide the complex language into these four units in order, and then use them repeatedly, we can write a well-defined and non-sloppy beginning.

Among them, the order of the four elements can be adjusted, but the most basic and common order is "description-introduction-narration-background". Let's take the familiar novel "Hometown" by Mr. Lu Xun as an example to make a detailed analysis.

I braved the cold to return to my hometown more than 2000 miles apart and left for more than 20 years.

Since it is deep winter; As we approached our hometown, the weather was gloomy again. The cold wind blew into the cabin, and I looked out through the gap in the canopy. There were several desolate villages lying far and near, lifeless. I can't help feeling sad inside. (scenery description+psychological description)

Ah! Isn't this my hometown that I have been remembering for twenty years? (Introduction, which leads to the hometown in memory)

None of my hometown in memory is like this. My hometown is much better. But if I have to remember his beauty and tell him his advantages, there will be no image and no words. That seems to be it. So I explained to myself that my hometown is the same-although there is no progress, it may not be as sad as I feel. This is just a change in my own mood, because I am not in a good mood when I go back to China this time. (Narrative, explaining the author's psychological activities when he returned to his hometown)

I came here to see him. The old house we have lived together for many years has been sold to another name, and the deadline for delivery is only this year, so we must bid farewell to the old house we are familiar with and move to a different place where I am looking for food before the first day of the first month. (background, explain the reason for returning home)

If the structural distinction at the beginning of Hometown is not obvious enough, let's take a look at the beginning of the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning work Enrique's Journey.

It was1989 65438+1October 29th, and Enrique's mother walked down the porch.

She's gone. (description)

"Is Donde my mother?" Enrique shouted over and over again, "Where is my mother?" (Introduction, which leads to Enrique's mother-seeking journey. )

His mother never came back, which decided Enrique's fate. Later, when he is a teenager, actually a child, he will go to America alone to find his mother. Before you know it, he will grow up to be one of those children from Central America and Mexico who entered the United States illegally without their parents. (Describe and explain Enrique's life track. )

It is estimated that their number is as high as 48,000 every year, and about two-thirds of them have escaped the supervision of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). (Background, there are a large number of people who make a living by smuggling)

Through the disassembly of the above two distinctive works, we will have a preliminary understanding of the application of the "four-element starting method". To put it bluntly, the "four-element starting method" is to combine words through the alternate use of different writing techniques. The difficulty lies in distinguishing narrative from description. The way I distinguish is that narrative is like movie narrative, focusing on the result; Description is like a long shot in a movie, with the emphasis on the process.

The two examples mentioned above are all about the application of the "four elements starting method" in classic works. In fact, this method is very easy to learn, and we can master it after a simple understanding in our daily work. The following is the beginning of my essay "Tiger and Jade Bird" published in the capital Liang Evening News.

Nothing is my bosom friend since I was a child.

When I was ten years old, I came to my house to play in the summer vacation. I cooked by myself and cooked a few home-cooked meals for nothing. At noon that day, the two of us sat at Xiao Mu's desk under air conditioning, and behind the desk was an old computer with music. (Narrator, it shows that I have a good relationship with nothing since I was a child.)

Outside the window, the sky is high and the clouds are light, and the wind is blowing green trees. Light and shadow were cut into pieces by Mao Ye and scattered on the ground. Cicada sings through the window and mixes in the music. Describe the summer scenery and enrich the article. You suddenly walked up to the computer and asked me, "Have you ever heard of the bluebird?" The introduction leads to the music "Jade Bird" and the story of me and nothing. )

It was the first time I heard Jade Bird, and that song left a deep impression on me. I can't wait to add it to the song list. Describe and write about my love for the bluebird. It's a pity that after I changed my computer at home, I lost "Jade Bird" together with that version of the song list. After a long time, I gradually forgot this song. Forget it for ten years. (background, indicating that the song list is lost, paving the way for the end. )

At the beginning of this essay, I used the order of "narrative-description-introduction-narrative-background", that is, I added a narrative before the "four elements opening method" in the basic version. It can also be seen that the so-called "four elements start method" is not a fixed template. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, it can adjust the order of each element according to the content of the article. Its core meaning is: divide a complex language into four units in sequence, and then recycle them.

The road is dead, and people are alive. In the final analysis, the "four elements writing method" is just a writing template. We can use templates, but we must not copy them mechanically. After all, articles serve the mind. Only by learning to choose a writing technique suitable for the central idea can you become a qualified creator.