When we hear something is about history, some of us begin to worry that that means it’ll be boring. When attempting non-fiction writing, it’s your job to prove to the reader that this isn’t true.
This is why the first page of a book – and especially a non-fiction book – is so important. The introduction is your chance to grab your readers’ attention and convince them to listen to what you have to say.
Here, Honor Cargill-Martin, author of The Six Queens of Henry VIII is going to teach your students how to do just that. The download contains an exclusive teaching pack to help you explore the introduction, as well as the rest of the book.
Resources
This download contains:
- Extract from The Six Queens of Henry VIII by Honor Cargill-Martin
- ‘How writers can create a teaser introduction’ guide
- ‘Exploring writers’ techniques’ worksheet
- ‘Exploring writers’ techniques’ working wall display
- Teacher notes
- Planning sheet
Tips for writing a great non-fiction introduction
Audience is everything
Think about who your dream reader is. Are they your age or younger or older? Do they like funny or serious books? This is the person you’re trying to hook with this introduction so keep them in your mind’s eye as you write.
What’s the point?
When your reader has finished your whole book what do you want them to come away with? Maybe they will have learnt something, or had a good laugh, explored a new world, or met famous characters they’d never heard about before.
Promise them this in your introduction. Just make sure you follow through – you don’t want angry readers on your trail!
Set the scene
Just because you’re writing non-fiction, that doesn’t mean it should be unimaginative. Paint a picture! If you’re writing about history, tell readers what it might have smelt like. Writing about another part of the world? Tell them what the weather is like. Describing a person? Focus on how they look, talk, or move.
Tantalising details
The thing that really captures readers is detail. Think of this like the snatches of scenes you see in movie trailers. You want to give your reader a taste of the sort of facts they’ll learn and people they’ll meet inside your book.
Leave them wanting more
Your goal is to get the reader to turn the page, so don’t give away all your secrets in the intro. Reference something briefly, then move on. If they’re frustrated? They’ll just have to keep reading…
What is The Six Queens of Henry VIII about?
The Six Queens of Henry VIII is about the six women who were unlucky enough to be married to the Tudor King Henry VIII, who ruled England between 1509 and 1547.
Henry wasn’t a great husband, and you might know these queens by way of a rhyme which refers to their fates: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. The rhyme isn’t wrong, but there’s a lot more than that to every one of them.
Katherine of Aragon led an army while Henry was off in France. Anne Boleyn started a religious revolution that still stands today. Jane Seymour protected herself and her family by playing the role of the ideal Tudor wife to perfection.
Anne of Cleves built an independent life on her own terms in a strange country. Catherine Howard freed prisoners and tried to have fun. And Katherine Parr became the first woman ever to publish books under her own name in the English language.
Catherine, Anne, Jane, Anne, Catherine, and Katherine’s stories are exciting and dramatic, full of danger, laughter, tears and history-changing achievements.
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