McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Beginnings
Jon:
I rarely make a definite decision on whether or not I'm going to read a book by it's first line. That being said, when I do read a book that has an awesome introduction, I often give a little 'hmph', shift my position, look away from the book for a second, and then dive in. When I'm actually writing, I always take a ridiculously long time deciding on the first sentence and it usually ends up being something really simple, like 'It was raining again."
Richelle Mead:
I have no idea how I never noticed this topic. Beginnings that hook me are sooo important, especially now that I have stacks and stacks of books on my list. I've also had beginnings hammered into me in all sorts of writing classes. I honestly think Succubus Blues getting an agent was delayed by 6 months because I had a clunky opening chapter. I cleaned it up and got an agent shortly thereafter.
Jim's books are outstanding in this regard. Part of what hooked me was when I looked Stormfront up on Amazon and read those first few lines. I IM'd a friend immediately and demanded, "Why are we not reading this guy?"
Here are the first few lines of SB for those who are interested:
Statistics show that most mortals sell their souls for five reasons: sex, money, power, revenge, and love. In that order.
I suppose I should have been reassured, then, that I was out here assisting with numero uno, but the whole situation just made me feel…well, sleazy. And coming from me, that was something.
becroberts:
I'm another one that rarely pays attention to first lines, with the possible exception of Watership Down. It's not often I remember them and if I decide to give up on a book (rarely happens), it'll be because the first 30 or so pages didn't hook me, not the opening line.
That said, here's one of mine:
It looked like a suicide, right down to the bottle of imp poison on the floor and the suicide note on the coffee table. But the buzzing behind my eyes was telling me different.
Cathy Clamp:
I don't know that I have stellar opening lines. Some people say yes, others say "ehh." :D But here they are, in succession:
--- Quote ---Nick's Tavern is in the worst part of town. The front door opens onto a back alley and the back door dead-ends inside another building. The Fire Code wasn't in effect when the building was built---Nick's has been there that long.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---The scent of snow on the wind raised the hairs on my skin like distant lightning.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---The sweet stench of rotting flesh on the breeze assaulted Antoine's nose, even before the buzzing of flies reached his ears.
--- End quote ---
I like to set a mood . . . a tone in the opening line that gives you the here and now of the character's moment in time. Sometimes I achieve it, and sometimes not. ;)
Athanasia:
I have a poor memory, or rather one that seems bent on remembering tons of trivia instead of the poems I love and useful data, lol So when I do remember a line from anything (or its title!), it means something.
In this case it has been years since I touched the book, and yet the moment I saw this topic, among the hundred books I've read, it came right back to me that THIS one had an opening paragraph worth looking around my dusty bookshelves.
Imagine opening the book and coming across the first paragraph, like this.
"Once a thing is known it can never be unknown. It can only be forgotten. And, in a way that bends time, so long as it is remembered, it will indicate the future. It is wiser, in every circumstance, to forget, to cultivate the art of forgetting. To remember is to face the enemy. The truth lies in remembering.
My name is Frances Hinston and I do not like to be called Fanny. I work in the reference library of ...."
Anita Brookner - "Look at me"
A. Brookner is one of these incredible British writers who excel at studying people (I'm not British but I'm biased in their favour, lol. Don't mind me, I like others too :) ). Here in a few sentences one has the gist of the book: a ordinary story on unrequited love, a study in character, and a few times across the book, a sudden plunge into something much deeper where the main character's suffering is never directly expressed but reaches to you in a very quiet and composed voice.
Not only that, but you know from the start not to be fooled, because this seemingly innocuous story on ordinary people is written by someone with a very sharp eye and mind.
Can you tell I was entirely hooked by that beginning? :)
Athanasia
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version