Opening Lines
Posted by childofthehive | Filed under Writing Talk
For my first post on the subject of fiction writing, opening lines seemed an appropriate topic.
The first sentence of a book is absolutely critical in writing because it’s what will get your reader’s attention and set the tone for what’s to come. How many people browse bookshops for new reading material, pick up a book off the shelf, turn to page one and start reading? A lot. That first sentence could make the difference between someone going on to buy the book and putting it back on the shelf after the first paragraph.
The fact that people will usually be able to quote a few when asked what first lines they like is proof of how significant they are. Some are so famous that even people who haven’t read the book will be able to tell you where it’s from.
Often, a first line will be good because it raises a question. You then want to read the next paragraph or two to find the answer to that question. Here are a few examples of good first lines.
Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening Hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen. From Northern Lights by Philip Pullman.
This one raises a few questions. The first: who is Lyra. The second: what is a daemon. Finally: why are they staying hidden? The fact that Lyra here is trying to avoid being seen introduces a sense of jeopardy. We know, even by the end of the first sentence, that she is going somewhere she’s not meant to be.
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. From Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
For me, it’s the “again” that makes this line. That one word implies a whole history of previous times the narrator had been to Manderley. The question here: where is Manderley? That question is answered somewhat as the first chapter unfolds but it is replaced with a deeper question that takes the rest of the book to answer: why did the unnamed narrator and her husband leave Manderley?
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. From The Gunslinger by Stephen King.
Here we have two mysterious characters and more than a hint of danger all gathered together in one intriguing sentence. Who is the man in black? Who is the gunslinger? Why is the gunslinger chasing him?
One thing that all these three examples have in common is that something key in the plot is in that first sentence. In Northern Lights, daemons are critical to the storyline and Lyra’s act of hiding in the Retiring Room is how the whole adventure starts. The book jumps right into the plot bringing up a concept key to the world the story is set in. In Rebecca, the story is about how the narrator gets married and comes to live at Manderley, where much of the plot takes place. The main point of the plot in The Gunslinger is the fact that Roland, the last Gunslinger, is chasing the man in black. The book concerns the things that happen to him during the chase.
So when writing your own novel, you need to be concerned not only that your first line is interesting, but that it is tied to the plot or purpose of your story. This isn’t a rule. It’s possible to right a good first line that doesn’t fit this pattern but if you think about opening lines you particularly like, the chances are that they will raise a question and be about the core plot of the novel.
Tags: advice, opening lines, writing
