Opening Lines

What is it about an opening line that makes you want to read on?

For me, that opening line has to intrigue me, show me something of the fictional world to come, or show me something about the lead character. The very best opening lines combine at least two of these.

I'm thinking especially of Orwell's 1984 "It was a bright, cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.". I'm immediately intrigued by the thirteen and I want to know about what kind of world it could be to have clocks capable of doing this. The opening line has definitely fulfilled its role there!

The challenge then for the writer is to make sure that everything which follows lives up to the promise of that opening line and delivers on it! And some people think writing is easy...hmm... I learned a long time ago that when someone makes something look easy, that same someone has almost certainly worked their socks off for years to get to that point.

So what are your favourite lines and why?

I also love the opening to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. Very different in style but they intrigue and set the tone for what is to come.

Happy reading, and writing!