Novelist's Desk Forum Great opening lines

There are times when I stare at a blank screen for endless hours trying to come up with the perfect opening line. Eventually I break down and just write, "It was a dark and stormy night..." just to get the writing started. Later I come back to the work, hoping to think of something as brilliant as Tolstoy's, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." or John Irving's, "Garp's mother, Jenny Fields, was arrested in Boston in 1942 for wounding a man in a movie theater."

What is your favorite first line from literature or your own work?

 

My favorite is from my first sale - A Gackle is a Man's Best Friend.

My favorite line is from a work of mine, Crimson Dust. This recycled oxygen is horrible to have to breathe, but what can we do?

This line has stuck with my novel the entire duration of my time working on it. Since the time I started and the time I finished I left that particular line alone and rewrote hundreds of paragraphs.

This one line, the first line in my novel, has been fundamental in the provocative nature of Crimson Dust. An instant hook that digs deep and refuses to be removed.

I certainly don't have every story of mine directly in front of me, but I can give you something. My favorite story of mine is one I am writing with my friend Breana. It's a science fiction novel, set 30 years in the future. Athena, named after the Greek Goddess, is one of the few inhabitants left on Earth. I won't reveal anymore. Anyway, the very first line is from a diary entry of Athena's mother's.

 

There are aliens in space.

 

Of course, it sounds cliche, and maybe it won't attract a lot of attention. But I've always, rather than believe that aliens are in space, thought the theory was interesting, so I think I would read the story.

 

Would you?

I can't say that I'd choose one of my own from a story I've written, because when I think of "great opening line" what comes to mind is two writing prompts that I came across last year and wrote down. They seemed to 'stand out' above any others.

"If you are reading this, then I am almost certainly dead"
& "It wasn't as if anyone got hurt. It had to be done"

They both are great opening lines, they catch your attention immediately. Being a horror writer is what propelled me towards them, but in general, I just think they're good for a first line.

Came up with an "interesting" starter for a story I'm currently working on - not sure if it's memorable yet.

 

"I was born and died the same day - but not in the order your mind would be willing to accept."

Hmm...I'm not sure. I usually have opening paragraphs, not lines. I'm no good at one liners.

There was a story I started a few years back that started "It was raining the day that I died."

Unfortunately, the story went downhill from there, lol.

N~