by Jill Williamson
Opening lines are important, and I usually totally forget to make them rock in my books. And I still managed to get published several times. Go figure.
Still, a great opening line can instantly connect with the reader, it can set the scene, it can give voice and tone to your story, and it could be remembered and used in classrooms in schools and writer’s workshops all over the world for all time. So, it’s very worth it to take the extra time on your first line.
Here are some of my favorites. Can you guess the book without Googling the answer? If you don’t get that first one, I just don’t know what to say. Click here for the answers.
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Camp Wahkah Wahkah wasn’t the worst experience I’ve ever had.”
“Sailing toward dawn, and I was perched atop the crow’s nest, being the ship’s eyes.”
“Evil wears a mask, and I can finally see its face.”
“The temperature of the room dropped fast.”
“Sometimes it seems like all I ever do is lie.”
“I used to be someone.”
“There is no lake at Camp Green Lake.”
“When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it’s never good news.”
“We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck.”
“The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit.”
“It’s the first morning of high school. I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomachache.”
Which opening line gripped you and why? And what’s one of your favorite openings in a book?