For Readers and Authors and Anyone in Between
For readers:
Way back in this blog, I said I’d occasionally update readers on my work-in-progress. I haven’t a title for it yet so it just gets called the wip. Just to prove that something is happening(!) here are the first lines of the first four chapters:-
Chapter One
The hairs on the nape of Liberty’s neck stood, like Jack’s beanstalk, upright; she had never been in the presence of approaching death before.
Chapter Two
Insofar as he did not come to the office, Gregor accepted his expulsion.
Chapter Three
Dear Libby, if you are reading this, I will be in Heaven if God is forgiving, or Hell if He is not, or maybe simply rotting in my grave.
Chapter Four
Sparkles or rain?
Would any of you like to tell me which of these sentences you like best?
For authors:
In the comments section, would you like to write just one opening line from the first chapter in any one of your books? Tell us the name of the book but please don’t leave links.
For readers:
What is your favourite opening sentence to any chapter in any book you have read? Please tell us in the comments section.
For readers (again):
is reduced to 0.99 in the US and UK until 6th April and, of course, it is FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
Here’s what BookBub wrote about it: “English Lieutenant Karl Thorsen won’t rest until he hangs smuggler Daniel Tynton for his crimes. Caught between them is Lucy Yorton, a young woman torn away from her life of privilege and thrown into a whirlpool of temptation and betrayal. Can she decide where her heart truly lies?”
Way back in this blog, I said I’d occasionally update readers on my work-in-progress. I haven’t a title for it yet so it just gets called the wip. Just to prove that something is happening(!) here are the first lines of the first four chapters:-
Chapter One
The hairs on the nape of Liberty’s neck stood, like Jack’s beanstalk, upright; she had never been in the presence of approaching death before.
Chapter Two
Insofar as he did not come to the office, Gregor accepted his expulsion.
Chapter Three
Dear Libby, if you are reading this, I will be in Heaven if God is forgiving, or Hell if He is not, or maybe simply rotting in my grave.
Chapter Four
Sparkles or rain?
Would any of you like to tell me which of these sentences you like best?
For authors:
In the comments section, would you like to write just one opening line from the first chapter in any one of your books? Tell us the name of the book but please don’t leave links.
For readers:
What is your favourite opening sentence to any chapter in any book you have read? Please tell us in the comments section.
For readers (again):
is reduced to 0.99 in the US and UK until 6th April and, of course, it is FREE on Kindle Unlimited.Here’s what BookBub wrote about it: “English Lieutenant Karl Thorsen won’t rest until he hangs smuggler Daniel Tynton for his crimes. Caught between them is Lucy Yorton, a young woman torn away from her life of privilege and thrown into a whirlpool of temptation and betrayal. Can she decide where her heart truly lies?”
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Alicia
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Apr 01, 2022 09:42AM
I identify with Libby in the third - had the same thought many a time.
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"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,..." because I can actually remember that verbatim (just about that far!). My mind is an inveterate paraphraser - we come close sometimes, and other times my children laugh at me when my Firefly quote is sadly inaccurate.For me - good enough, though I appreciate the poetry of the originals - Firefly is the only show I can watch over and over, and not get bored of. Perhaps it is the paraphrasing that makes it such a joy when I hear the right version.
Justified did that - that language of the characters in a rough part of the US was impressive, often Biblical, but lost its charm by the third viewing. Firefly - I've seen some episodes maybe fifteen times - and will view them many more. It's the language.
Thank you, Alicia. Charles Dickens is probably my favourite author.
I definitely like Dickens and Poe. I will have to ponder this one.Since I am note a "real" author, and I can't honestly say this would be my favorite first line of anything I wrote, perhaps it will tease or provide fodder for pondering if I were to inject this (from one of my poems) into the string:
Lessons Not Learned
The sordid, dismal past cries out
To ears both far and near,
Its warnings like a trumpet blast
For all who dare to hear.
Walker wrote: "I definitely like Dickens and Poe. I will have to ponder this one.Since I am note a "real" author, and I can't honestly say this would be my favorite first line of anything I wrote, perhaps it wi..."
That's lovely, Walker.
I write poetry for use as epigraphs for my novels when I can't find a quote that says exactly what I want to say. Other than that, not. Mostly haiku, a few stanzas of something by an 'Allison Grace Eberhart' called Ode to Time for the soon-to-be-published NETHERWORLD:
Heartache, heart break,
and naught to touch it with
but words.
and
It matters not whether you see
the train wreck coming,
if you cannot get out of the way.
Just for the fun of it.
Hi Anna, I like no 3 best, is intriguing, makes you wonder why specifically she needed God's forgiveness? The first line of the first story in my collection A Recycled Marriage: 'I knew something was wrong.'
Walker wrote: "I definitely like Dickens and Poe. I will have to ponder this one.Since I am note a "real" author, and I can't honestly say this would be my favorite first line of anything I wrote, perhaps it wi..."
Beautiful, this moved me Walker. Very apt for the war-torn world we live in.
Walker wrote: "I definitely like Dickens and Poe. I will have to ponder this one.Since I am note a "real" author, and I can't honestly say this would be my favorite first line of anything I wrote, perhaps it wi..."
Ah yes, Poe fascinated me from a very young age. You certainly have a talent for poetry and how very true those lines are. Soon be time for you to put a little book together, perhaps? People need to hear what you are saying.
Alicia wrote: "Walker wrote: "I definitely like Dickens and Poe. I will have to ponder this one.Since I am note a "real" author, and I can't honestly say this would be my favorite first line of anything I wrote..."
Isn't it nice to write 'just for the fun of it', as you say, Alicia? Your work has also received an award, if I remember rightly?
Rosemary wrote: "Hi Anna, I like no 3 best, is intriguing, makes you wonder why specifically she needed God's forgiveness? The first line of the first story in my collection A Recycled Marriage: 'I knew something..."
Oh yes, Rosemary, we're all eyes to know what's going to happen when you write something like that.
And a big thank you to all those who drop 'likes' on here, they come second to what you all have to say. I woke up this morning and found you'd all been busy while I slept.
Alicia wrote: "Walker wrote: "I definitely like Dickens and Poe. I will have to ponder this one.Since I am note a "real" author, and I can't honestly say this would be my favorite first line of anything I wrote..."
Those epigraphs can often be important final elements and leave thought provoking ideas and ideals. They can also bring forth a sense of conclusion or finality.
I could imagine both of those at the conclusion of story line. Very nice.
Rosemary wrote: "Walker wrote: "I definitely like Dickens and Poe. I will have to ponder this one.Since I am note a "real" author, and I can't honestly say this would be my favorite first line of anything I wrote..."
Thank you, kindly. This is the first stanza of a poem I wrote in May of 2011. It goes on for 16 stanzas talking about just such things as those things we ignore in history only to repeat them because we say, "It can't happen here." It is, perhaps, a bit dark and even cynical, but is intended to, hopefully, open eyes to teach "lessons not learned" from the past.
Anna wrote: "Walker wrote: "I definitely like Dickens and Poe. I will have to ponder this one.Since I am note a "real" author, and I can't honestly say this would be my favorite first line of anything I wrote..."
Perhaps I should. People have been telling me for years I need to publish my "Walkerisms" in more than just e-mail distributions to those on my list. (Short list of maybe 30 or 40.) One of the favorites of some seems to be from 10 May 2021.
"I am resolved that I shall never let yesterday’s regrets nor tomorrow’s dreams rob me of today’s joy."
Perhaps I am full of them.
Yep! It's a good one, Walker, thank you.
Walker wrote: "Alicia wrote: "Walker wrote: "I definitely like Dickens and Poe. I will have to ponder this one.Since I am note a "real" author, and I can't honestly say this would be my favorite first line of a..."
I have a line picked out for the conclusion of my work-in-progress. I know it will make people think hard but will they agree with it? I have time to keep thinking about it! It's not a lesson learned as such, but something I read and thought it was something that would give us pause for thought, or maybe it's not what people want to hear.
Anna wrote: "Walker wrote: "Alicia wrote: "Walker wrote: "I definitely like Dickens and Poe. I will have to ponder this one.Since I am note a "real" author, and I can't honestly say this would be my favorite ..."
Those first lines and last lines are important. I am thinking of the last line in "Immortality ..." right now. Very good one!
Oh dear... I had to go and look it up! What a clot - it's the title of the book - 'Immortality: This is Probably a Novel."As any author will tell you, I suspect, some bits in their novels are based on truth. :-)
I really like this opening from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.First Chapter - I Am Born
Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life,
or whether that station will be held by anybody else,
these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning
of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed
and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night. It was
remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry,
simultaneously.
The opening line of my novel Captain Easterday's Bargain:The betrothal visit went well, after the first few days.
I also like Chapter 3 best. Chapter 4 could be interesting, but I'd need more context.My favorite opening?
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."
From Daphne du Maurier's REBECCA. I found it compelling when I first read it, and I still do.
From my novella THE WINDS OF MORNING:
The afternoon sun played against the waves of the River Shannon, turning them silver, making them glint like thousands of small fish leaping joyfully upstream to spawn.
Anna wrote: "Isn't it nice to write 'just for the fun of it', as you say, Alicia? Your work has also received an award, if I remember rightly?..."It is - I seem to write hundreds to thousands of words every day - I love to comment when people put up a post and it starts a conversation. Gets the brain cells happily firing.
Thank you for remembering! Pride's Children PURGATORY was awarded 2021 Best Contemporary novel by Indies Today after a really good review by Jennifer Jackson there. Still trying to drum up readers and reviewers - my standard offer is an electronic ARC to those who will consider writing a review (I don't nag).
But there is a fine line between suggesting and pushing, and we see too much of the latter, so it makes me skittish. Every once in a while I do the rounds of book bloggers who accept submissions, but I'm dreadfully slow, and finishing Netherworld, which is six scenes from the end, is the main priority right now (that, and taxes), and it's quite enough on the plate.
Kathleen wrote: "The opening line of my novel Captain Easterday's Bargain:The betrothal visit went well, after the first few days."
That's a great line. One wonders immediately about those days!
Gifford wrote: "I also like Chapter 3 best. Chapter 4 could be interesting, but I'd need more context.My favorite opening?
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."
From Daphne du Maurier's REBECCA. I f..."
Love Rebecca, too, and that line.
Your line about the fishes is beautifully visual.
Thanks, Walker, a great opener.Aha, Kathleen, yes that catches the attention.
Thank you, Gifford. I'm hoping my opening lines get better as they go along. And Rebecca, ah that's a favourite too. And your opening line of your novella is beautiful. It deserves to be read several times and absorbed slowly.
Thanks, Alicia. BTW, my WIP right now has a FMC named Alicia -- small world, isn't it?
Thank you, Gifford. I'm hoping my opening lines get better as they go along. And Rebecca, ah that's a favourite too...."Thanks very much, Anna. I appreciate your kind words.
Gifford wrote: "Thanks, Alicia. BTW, my WIP right now has a FMC named Alicia -- small world, isn't it?"It is. I've finished naming characters for the WIP, but will remember Gifford if appropriate for someone in the third volume of the trilogy.
There was a post going round FB that said to use your first name, 'but not...' and the famous one.
I wrote: Alicia, but not De La Rocha. May have dated myself.
I think Chapter Three gets my attention the most. I want to know what's happening and why is someone writing to Libby about impending death.My favourite opening line is from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
It says everything you need to know about the novel.
My favourite opening line from one of my novels is from
Songbird: (The Songbird Story - Book One)
"I was twenty-one years old when I sold my baby."
P & P - yes, it's about the only one that I can remember correctly, and is so tantalizing.As for yours from The Songbird Story, oh yes, it stopped me in my tracks. Brilliant.
Thanks for the 'like' T.K. What are you up to these days - writing, I hope.
All of those first lines are very well thought-out, I think! I felt especially drawn to the first one, so I think it does a great job being the first line of your entire story. The simile is creative and of course now I'm wondering what's going on with Liberty. I hope everything goes well with the manuscript! Writing a first draft is exhausting but exhilarating.Honestly, after all these years I still think my punchiest first line is from my first novel, Skydwellers:
"There are more useful ways to stop a man than to kill him, and Rohui knew this all too well."
Aha! Yes, definitely a show stopper and probably true but I suspect there is more to your story...
Oh dear, it's hard to pick a favorite first line! I always forget every book I've ever read. I do like the first line of Rebecca, and the first line of The Hobbit. Hmm, I'll have to look through my bookshelves. :P
I'm not a published author yet, but I really like the first couple sentences in my WIP:
It was a mystery why he married me. But what became a more immense mystery as time went on was who this man really was.
I know how you feel, Riley. I tend to go for old favourites but really there could be something just as good - if only I could remember it!Good luck with your wip and thanks for your first line which sounds very interesting - a good start!
I enjoyed reading Anthony Hyde’s The Red Fox. The setting is during the ‘Cold war’ . I found the storyline credible and suspenseful. Opening line: “I was to learn that all the real secrets are buried and only ghosts speak the truth. So it was fitting, even for me, that all this began in a graveyard, among mysteries, memories and lies.”
That sets the stage.
Definitely an interesting, grabbing opener. Thank you, Robert.
My favorite opening line is the 4th one.I’m not an author. My all-time favorite first line from a novel is, “Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” From Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
Thank you, Theresa!The first line from 'Rebecca' is a worthy favourite, it seems.,
It is memorable BECAUSE the book is memorable, not the other way around.Most people remember the book when they read it - the first/best of its kind in many ways. I like it best of those of hers I've read.
So far, chapter three gets most votes and I think that's the one I like best too. However, oh dear, chapter one has no votes. Yikes! Thank you for giving me something to think about.
I think the Chapter 1 opening is intriguing.
I like 2 and 4 best, I think, although they're all good opening lines.Here's one of my own:
"A lush swell of music, a terrifying crash of orchestral thunder, and the makeshift stage scintillated with blue and gold lightning-sparks spraying down from on high." (Space Operatic)
Oh that does sound dramatic, attention grabbing.Thanks for your feedback too.
Walker wrote: "I think the Chapter 1 opening is intriguing."Thank you! I'll give it some thought later.
Anna wrote: "Walker wrote: "I think the Chapter 1 opening is intriguing."Thank you! I'll give it some thought later."
Just saying Chapter 1 was my favorite. It is intriguing.
I've been worrying about it - so thank you!
I'm a little late weighing in, but I like the third opening sentence. The first two required too much thought. The last one said too little.My favorite opening line of a chapter is from a Rick Riordan novel, but I can't remember it exactly. Something like, "You know it's going to be a bad day when you wake up as a snake."
My own novel starts with this line, "Addien had always been fascinated by the tunnels running underneath her house."
Hi Janet and thank you for your contribution. My opening line for chapter three seems to be the favourite.I laughed at the shock of waking up as a snake but instantly changed to wide-eyed horror.
Your first sentence from 'Brenin's Crown' is satisfyingly intriguing.
Chapter three's open would be my fave from all of them, too. I have no idea what my favorite first line of any book I've ever read is.
The first line in my book that's scheduled for release August 30, "Adira: Journey to Freedom" is:
“Adira.” I heard Em’s whisper, but my foggy brain refused to respond.
