Writing Prompt: Opening Sentences
Writing Prompt: Opening Sentences
"It was a dark and stormy night."
The classic first line of a good book. (Which also happens to be the first line of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.) It can make or break your impression of a book. Will it be love at first sight? Or will it end up under your bed living with dust bunnies and used Kleenex? Is it going to be an adventure? Tragedy? Hilarious diary? You can tell a lot about a book by its first line.
For example, the line "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold." What book is this you may wonder? Elementary, my dear Watson, it's the first line of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games (for ages 12 and up).
Or how about "Two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane." None other than the first line from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Try "First of all, let me get something straight: This is a JOURNAL, not a diary." This is from the one and only. . . Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
This one I also like, "The sky was the color of cat vomit." Can you guess? It's Scott Westerfeld's first line from Uglies (for ages 12 and up).
I could go on and on, but I'd rather hear from you guys! For today's Writing Prompt, if you were writing a book, what would your opening line be? Be as crazy as you want to be. You never know – all you budding writers could say you wrote it here first! Leave your First Line in the Comments below!
—Ratha, Stacks Writer
Okay, this is a random first line I made up that is not from a story, and it's not a story I'm writing either.
Everyone looked up at the dim orange sky infested with dark maroon sweet potatoes. "Red Potatoes" by Anonymous XD
Comment #1 | Posted by: oOKianaOo on July 11, 2011 at 03:52 AM
Since I love writing, and have written many things, I can post many:
• "I’m running, screaming, crying—trying."
• "I HAD KNOWN EMRYS since he was nine (and I was six)."
• "Kathy took a swing at me."
• " “KATITA?” "
• "WELCOME TO THE FIRST OFFICAL DAY OF THE WORST YEAR OF MY LIFE."
• "I was nervous when I first convinced myself of this."
• "The nights are usually this quiet."
Comment #2 | Posted by: alywrites on July 11, 2011 at 05:07 AM
People call me Pizza Face.
Comment #3 | Posted by: screamingdomogirl on July 11, 2011 at 08:12 AM
The phrase, "It was a dark and stormy night" can become redundant and cliche. As a result of, readers may get annoyed with the platitude and just put down the book. However, your point on the first line catching your attention is true. Like...
"Everything is energy." (Immortals, "Shadowland")
Comment #4 | Posted by: percy and harry fan on July 11, 2011 at 08:45 AM
I LOVE THAT FIRST LINE!"IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT..." It is a CLASSIC! =D
Comment #5 | Posted by: mermaidprincess2 on July 11, 2011 at 08:48 AM
The first line of my (next) book would be, "My best friend's favorite hobby killed her." Okay, I'm just kidding. At this point of time, I can't really think of anything. Then again, I might actually use that one...
Comment #6 | Posted by: madgrrl on July 11, 2011 at 09:02 AM
'Saturday afternoon, at four fourteen,Qwen was sitting behind the passenger's seat in a State Police car, drinking a small vanilla milkshake.'
There you go! I am rewriting this one.
Comment #7 | Posted by: Robyn on July 11, 2011 at 10:20 AM
"Um... Hi."
"I didn't mean to fall in the well."
"Mercedes had always known she was strange- nobody else saw fairies in the bushes, remembered things they hadn't done, people they hadn't met."
Comment #8 | Posted by: Marytonga on July 11, 2011 at 10:53 AM
I'm writing a book, and this is one of my opening lines:
"Terror swells in me, my heart pounding, as I run after the bus that holds my best friend."
Comment #9 | Posted by: whirlwindblue2 on July 11, 2011 at 11:37 AM
sweet! lovin the story lines
:):):):)
Comment #10 | Posted by: peacelovebooks999 on July 11, 2011 at 01:15 PM
1. It was as sunny as it could be when i thought nothing could go wrong.
2.DING DING the clock striked 4:00.
Comment #11 | Posted by: ocean3126 on July 11, 2011 at 02:24 PM
cool
Comment #12 | Posted by: peace on July 11, 2011 at 04:41 PM
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Comment #13 | Posted by: peace on July 11, 2011 at 04:51 PM
"when i woke up,there i saw it".
Comment #14 | Posted by: moneymoneymoney on July 11, 2011 at 05:10 PM
"I was always one to over-think things..."
I'm a budding author, and I have this little notebook. Whenever I get an idea for anything (such as an opening line) I write it down there. That one is from my notebook, and so is this one:
"It's crazy how significant a name can become to a person. One day, you hear the name and pay no attention. But then the next day you're heart aches when that same simple cluster of syllables enters your brain."
Okay, so that's a bit long. But it's an opening line(s) all the same, correct?
Comment #15 | Posted by: paco.haley on July 11, 2011 at 05:43 PM
- "Is someone out there?"
- This is the last day of my psychotic life.
- This will land me in prison.
- Whoever thought that my own best friend, was a killer?
- I remember back in October, the most frightful night known to me now.
Comment #16 | Posted by: redwolf248 on July 11, 2011 at 05:49 PM
wow
Comment #17 | Posted by: bulldog on July 11, 2011 at 05:49 PM
"The dragon circled over Jenna’s head and began its slow decent into the forest clearing where she stood."
~an un-named book I started
"“But sir it is an emergency…” Harry paused, not sure if he should tell the story or not."
~Joining Forces/Golden Circles, a fanfic :)
Comment #18 | Posted by: ninjadragon99 on July 11, 2011 at 05:51 PM
I love writing a lot. I'm practically the best writer in my class. But we didn't write our own stories. They had to be expository and stuff. Or summaries.
- The raft bobbed up and down to my doom.
- I wake up finding myself not in the comfort of my own familiar bed, but in a hard, lumpy bed that like a stranger to me.
- Whatever happens, I have to get out of here.
- I actually breathing when I saw him.
- What happened to me?
- "Someone please help me," I said faintly.
- "Run!" Kathrine harshly whispered.
- I had the most perfect life in the world without the need of riches, until HE came along.
Comment #19 | Posted by: redwolf248 on July 11, 2011 at 05:58 PM
"Don't try to tell me that time heals all wounds."
Comment #20 | Posted by: Books Movies Music on July 11, 2011 at 07:49 PM
My line would be:
'My third grade teacher just happened to be evil.'
Comment #21 | Posted by: purplecanvas on July 11, 2011 at 08:27 PM
I made this one up"I said good-bye to my old clan and looked for who I wanted in my new one."
Comment #22 | Posted by: cnahk on July 11, 2011 at 09:02 PM
I've written many things so here are a few...
"'Hmm…' I shrugged and pocketed the strange coin, proceeding in counting and sorting a mound of money."
~The Ancient Coin by me
"Lesley shivered, gnawing on her knuckles out of fright as she trudged past the thirteen townhouses."
~The 13 Townhouses by me
"The slender shadow loomed in the distance, trampling through the brambles lining the ThunderPath."
~Rusty and FlameClan, (my warriors fanfic)
"The warm, crackling fire heated the Yulgar Inn as five boys sat around a burgundy shag rug, eager for a story."
~No title but by me!
Comment #23 | Posted by: Amberwolf1 on July 11, 2011 at 09:23 PM
I'm not sure if this is an interesting first sentence, but I'll just post it anyway.
The lightning flashed wildly, thunders furiously roared, and the rain was bitterly mourning.
It's from a story I'm writing. The Stradivarius Conspiracy.
Comment #24 | Posted by: yellowglow on July 11, 2011 at 09:48 PM
my topic sentence will be :it was a dark gloomy night i was laying in my bed trying to go to sleep when all of the sudden BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! lightning flashing before my eyes thunder crashing furiously beyond the tree branches by this time my heart was pounding hard now i got up to use the bathroom but i was startled by another BOOM! It's called Thundering Night
Comment #25 | Posted by: brainstorm5 on July 12, 2011 at 12:16 PM