In a narrative essay, start with an unusual, attention-grabbing sentence or two. It should set an interesting scene and/or introduce an important character and something telling about them. “It was obvious that no one was supposed to enter the garden at my uncle’s house at night time, under a moonless sky.” “Charlotte had never really paid attention to the neighbors until she turned sixteen and got volunteered to start the school carpool on their street.” Start to complicate or expand upon your first statement. “The last streetlamp I’d seen was 3 miles behind me and all the lights in his house, looming on top of the hill, had been dark for hours.” “Then, on the first morning, Derek Manning showed up in the driveway, lugging his football stuff.” Add in interesting details or dialogue that add to the character, the plot, or the setting. Word these details carefully, since they’ll be helping you to create your tone. “There were seven stars in the sky—I counted, looking up instead of down at a ground so dark I couldn’t see past the faint shadow of my knee. My phone was in the house, flashlights were in the house, candles were inside.” “‘Hey,’ he said into her closed window. ‘Can you pop the trunk?’ Charlotte did. Then she stared out the windshield, keys dangling from the ignition, and wondered if she’d been blind for her whole life, or whether he’d just started to look like that, like, yesterday.” End the introduction with a surprising or complicating twist, which should start to transition into the next part of your narrative essay. “I couldn’t have taken any of them, because the whole point was not to be seen.” “He came around to the front and slid into the shotgun seat, then looked over at her. His face went from friendly to—something else. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘I remember you.’”