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We all know that the opening line/lines of a story are some of the most important. That first little bit needs to catch the reader’s attention and give a hint of what’s ahead. What’s the opening line of your latest book or story?
You are so right! It is the part that makes the reader want to keep reading, or put the book down, and search for a new one. I have to admit, my first line, being “I fumbled with my keys.” isn’t the most captivating, but the whole first paragraph together is much better, as a whole 🙂
MELODY
Life is short, smile while you still have teeth!
Let me write it first…  I will have one by the end of the day. Hopefully.
What’s your’s?
Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.
@melodyjoy, I think “I fumbled with my keys” isn’t necessarily a lame first line at all. It certainly raises questions, which is exactly what we want those first lines to do. What needs unlocked? Why is the speaker agitated/nervous? I’d read on…
@writergirl101, LOL! Best of luck.Ooh cool idea @zee!
My first line is, “Every single time I did this, a piece of my heart broke off.”
Courage, dear heart ~ Aslan
Good one, @bama-rose. You really make me want to know what “this” is.
My opening line for Book One is: “Anna Belko woke to the sound of a distant explosion.”
Book Two is: “Preen reached the clump of junipers only a minute before Rama, the boy she loved came racing up the path.”
They’re not brilliant, but they do manage to introduce the main character and give a hint of the setting/environment of the story, as well as possible challenges or problems.
@zee Haha thanks!! He’s actually bullying somebody, but he doesn’t want to.
Oh cool! Preen and Rama sound cute. 😉
Courage, dear heart ~ Aslan
Hmmm, why would you bully someone but not want to? Is he being forced into it by someone older/bigger/meaner? Now I’m even more intrigued.
I wish I could have given Preen and Rama the happy ending they hoped for (I actually planned out, and tried to write, an entire alternative ending for that book) but some things just aren’t meant to be.
Great point, Zee! When a book snatches my attention right off the bat, I finish almost before I know what happened. But if a book has a slower start, it can be a bit hard to get into it in the beginning for me 😛
Here’s the first line in my WIP:
” “Stupid girl!” Jagoro roared as he jerked Heather into the air by her arm and shook her violently.”
"I threw stones at the stars, but the whole sky fell."
Wow, @mischievous-thwapling, you certainly start right in the middle of things! But may I suggest cutting the “violently” from the end? I promise your opening line will be stronger without it. (Sorry, that’s one of my pet peeves.)
Yeah, I do tend to do that… In conversations, in my writing, in everything I do, I jump into the middle of it. XD Really, I count it as fault, lol.
Sure! I’ll cut “violently”! There, just did it. And yes, I get the pet peeve thing. I have this weird one, where it annoys me when people say a color is one similar to it. Like if someone says that an object is yellow, when it’s actually a shade of green.
Sorry, that was super random.
"I threw stones at the stars, but the whole sky fell."
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