Line, Please?

This week, Anxiety Ink posted this link about first lines on our Facebook page. It was a continuation of last weekend’s theme starter here. For this one, we said: “Nothing makes or breaks a book like the beginning, right?”

Right.

The examples both links provided not only impressed me, they made me think of books where I’ve repeatedly reread the opening lines because I just needed to relish them. Then I was struck by a highly disconcerting thought: When was the last time I really thought about the importance of the first sentence in my own work? Shame followed because I know I haven’t lately. The opening lines of a story are some of the most crucial and I’ve just been laying them out there in order to get to the rest of the story. BAD! Bad bad bad.

It’s the fundamentals of Writing 101 that the hook is everything. The importance of the first sentences you toss at a reader’s feet in order to make them want to keep reading cannot be understated. No brainer, right? Then where is my brain!?

I’ve been feeling somewhat dissatisfied with my writing lately, especially my approach, and I haven’t been able to put my finger on it. This is probably it. I think I’ve said before that I’m working in a new genre. Perhaps having to feel my way through that is proving to be more of a mental hurdle for me than I thought. I’m uncomfortable out of my milieu, I need to get over that and get over it now because at the end of the day writing is writing, no matter who or what your characters are or what they’re doing.

I’m allowing too many road blocks to pop up in my path and hinder me. I’m letting myself be distracted from the basics and that’s not ok with me. I think it’s time I step back, breathe, and put my nose to the grindstone so I can get some adequate prose out there. I had a month to spew words, it’s time to get back to thoughtfully composing.

There’s an Irish proverb I came across just after scheduling this post: “Making the beginning is one third of the work.” Should I take that as a positive sign?