First Line Frenzy!
First lines, I think, set the tone for the book. Create interest in a character or situation, and make the reader ask 'why'. That's a lot to ask for a ten to twenty word span, but it can be done.
We're now less than a week from the release of my second book, The Saint's Devilish Deal, and I thought it would be fun to have a first line frenzy - in which I show you mine and you show me yours. Because a little tit for tat is good, don't you think?
So, my first line:
The outer office door opened and
shut with authority and the hot lawyer’s office instantly shrank in size.
You can share your first line in the comments below and tell me - what's your favorite kind of first line? Action? Instrospection? Question? And do you think the point of view character of the first line is important?
Well, you made me open my WIP so I could check out the first line...and possibly get to work! Here goes: Steven Elliot didn’t lose many patients, especially young ones.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about what KIND of them I like, but they do need to be grabbers.
Love it, Liz, and I agree - grabbing the attention is the point of a first line. I think yours does that - sets the tone, makes me ask - who'd he lose? and want to keep reading to find out how it changes him.
DeleteI can never come up with great first lines. This is from my current WIP.
ReplyDeletePain, more intense than anything Chelsea Reese had ever experienced, ratcheted through her whole body at learning of her younger sister Chloe’s death.
Ooooh, love the emotion and pain here, Jerri. Great job!!
DeleteI like this, too, but there's almost too much in it--like a mini-info-dump. I'd split that into shorter, pithier sentences. (Not that anyone asked me--I'm just avoiding work!)
DeleteGreat blog idea, Kristina,and great first line. I feel your pain. These are not easy to write.
ReplyDeleteI do like to know the POV if not in the first line, then by the end of the first paragraph. I also agree that first lines set the tone. I struggled with this in my book since my story starts in a past life. This may set a misleading historical tone. Then in the first chapter I move to life-between-lives. The rest of the novel is set in present day, so yes, struggle, uh huh.
I will share the first line from my first chapter:
In Seraphina, the high city of the Upper World where souls dwelt in tranquility and the Old Ones ruled with wisdom, Calum was seriously pissed off.
Calum rocks, Sharon. :)
Delete-R.T. Wolfe
Oooh, questions, questions! Why's he pissed - especially since he's (apparently) a spirit of sorts and *should* be tranquil and *obviously* isn't. Like that juxtaposition!
DeleteThis is from my Civil War novella to be released by Crimson in November:
ReplyDeleteNo sliver of moonlight, no campfires burning; darkness covered Confederate soldier, Lieutenant Daniel McCoy, like a shroud
You had me at Civil War, Callie! Have loved that time period since the *highly* romanticized books (and movies) from the John Jakes North & South series... great line!
DeleteThat one got me!
DeleteI am visual. I like the first line to give me picture of where I'm at. The first picture should also set the appropriate mood for not only the scene but the tone of the beginning of the story. I agree with you, Kristina, it's a lot of pressure! lol
ReplyDeleteBlack Creek Burning (Crimson Romance, September 2012)
"The yellow cab turned onto the short cul-de-sac. Brie leaned back, slightly buzzed, and thought of how the dark street looked much the same as it did when she was a little girl."
Great post,
R.T. Wolfe
www.rtwolfe.com
Oooh, you've set the scene - she's going back, things don't seem to have changed...and yet we know they must have! Nice job, RT!
DeleteI’m with you BIG time. I only have so much time to read. With so many books out there if that first sentence, paragraph, page doesn’t grab me I move on. Drives my bats when I hear people say if you can just get through the first 100 or so pages the story gets good. Huh? What? That’s a third of the book that’s no good. I write thrillers so my first sentences are generally high energy or explosive. But they don’t have to be that way to grab me. One in my top five favs is from Elosia James. “I didn’t mean to marry them both.” Brilliant. With that simple sentence she tells you what the book is about.
ReplyDeleteKnowing how important openings are I constantly struggle to get mine where I want them and am never satisfied. In the lasted book this is the first line. “Gemma Hendrickson sank to her knees in the powdery white sand watching Pacific waves crash over a brand-fricking-new million-dollar plane.”
The WIP is, “Thornton sat on her haunches in the crumbling shack and thumbed back her helmet.” Yeaph needs work. But the next three sentences are killers.
Rita, my head is swimming! Love that line from Eloisa! And both your lines (Gemma's and Thornton's) set the scene well, I think. They make me curious - why did the plane crash? Is Gemma a survivor? And why is Thornton watching the shack? Think you've done a great job.
DeleteThese are some great first lines. Liz, yours definitely grabbed me. I love it when a first line makes me ask questions and have to read more. That's an excellent line from Eloisa James, too. All of these are wonderful. Here is mine from Soul Seducer:
ReplyDeleteGravel and blood filled Audra Grayson’s mouth, but she’d long ago lost the strength to spit it out.
Oh, that one's cool! Yeah, Kristi, I'm going back to work. Eventually. I just like this topic.
Deleteoooh, love it, Alicia!
DeleteI loved this post! I'm one who goes to the store and reads the first sentence. Most of the time, if they're good, I'll buy the book. Writing first lines are SO hard to do, but here are mine:
ReplyDeleteFirst book, REDEFINED DREAMS: I was in my favorite teashop when I found myself staring at an exquisite man who was walking towards me.
Second book, THE RIGHT DESIGN: Carrie Newman’s day started out like any other, only there were presents involved.
Third book, THUNDER IN ROSES, my current WIP: Have you ever fallen in love with your best friend?
Love the line about presents - that brings up questions! Thanks for playing along, Isabella!
DeleteGreat post! Really got me thinking. The first line of one of my novels actually starts out with dialogue:
ReplyDelete"I'm looking for someone for my brother Stanley."
I'm now thinking that may be a bit flat, so I'm checking the first-liner of my current WIP. Thanks, Kristina!
thanks for sharing, Arsoleen! And I like that line - is he or she a matchmaker?
DeleteFun post. First lines are so hard. I guess I like first lines that take me right into the action and into the head of the main character. Here is mine from Through The Lens:
ReplyDelete"The boat pitched forward and once again Mika Walters’s stomach did that revolting tuck- roll-flip thing that had her holding her breath and sweat popping out on her brow."
Oooh, actioney! Love it, Kwana!
DeleteGreat post. My WIP is titled Bruised and it alternates between chapters of black -- showing the POV character's "other selves" and Blue where the characters are in their human form. The book starts out with a Black section.
ReplyDeleteFreedom. Necro screamed as it dived over the cliff edge at Purgatory Chasm.
Oooh, very interesting, Barbara!
DeleteI usually start with dialogue because that's what I like to read. So, from my WIP: "I love it when she has the men in the audience sing the chorus to "My Vagina is Eight Miles Wide," Liz Fairchild said. "Hearing deep voices sing that line never fails to amuse me."
ReplyDeleteLOL - that's hilarious! I'd definitely keep reading!
DeleteI like a line that gets right into the story. I've opened stories with dialogue, and with my crime novels I've opened with a dead body. Here's the first line of my unpublished historical fiction I'm calling The Invisible City.
ReplyDelete"Seagulls haunted the S.S.Aurania's wake, diving into the foam churned up by the ship's screws, rising again on pale wings."
Nice one, Pat!
DeleteI like first lines that make me want more. A little action, intrigue, that holds my attention. I write suspense and this is from my WIP, Last Chance to Run:
ReplyDeleteCrouching into the shadows Ron checked his watch,five minutes, he would have everything he needed in the next five minutes, Tracy's life depended on it.
This is from my first book, Rescued from the Dark, which will be out at the end of the year.
An explosion ricocheted behind Jason Michael’s eyes as the pressure mounted in his head. The rush of panic consumed him. He struggled to move, tried to swallow, but nothing.
both are really strong! Thanks for playing along!
DeleteI love, love, love first lines!
ReplyDeleteFrom my Crimson romance, Wild Horses:
"Damn, it's hotter than the devil's backyard out here."
very descriptive - and from reading that book, very telling of Castana's character. Love it!
DeleteWhat a fun post! And reading everyone's first lines a great - thank you!!
ReplyDeleteHere's mine from Portals of Oz:
Humans lived a much different life than Wood Nymphs in the Boronda Forest.
LOL - different, hmm? Love it, Sheri!
DeleteI love first lines. After the title grabs me and the back cover blurb grabs me I pick up the book to read that important first line.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first line in one of my WIPs.
If she'd been a bad girl when she had the chance, she probably wouldn't be dying right now.
love that! Thanks for coming by, Cindy!
DeleteLove this! I was in a seminar once and the teacher took her I-phone and went to Amazon to read first paragraphs of award-winning books to see if they had the information she was teaching us to include. Time after time, the classics she pulled up did. Here's mine from "Taken by Storm:"
ReplyDelete"Bashea had gone to the well in the dark. She knew it was unwise, but it seemed so safe, just outside of the light from the fire where her family and other tribesmen sat telling age-old stories."
love it - funny how some things *don't* change, isn't it, MJ?
DeleteLove your first line, Kristina. It makes me wonder just what or who walked in and how that person is going to change everyone's lives.
ReplyDeleteMy first line is from my February release, The Notorious Lady Anne:
Nicholas Addison tossed back a mouthful of flat champagne and watched the swirling mass of people on the dance floor with a jaded eye.
Love it, Sharon!
DeleteOh, finding the right first line can be such hard work! Establishing POV right off in the first paragraph is important. I think the kind of first sentence isn't as important as whether it works and catches the imagination.
ReplyDeleteHere's the first line from Clear As Day, my contemporary romance from The Wild Rose Press:
Of course, the more she determined not to think of Nate, the more she did.
love that, Babette - great way to set up a contemporary...and am I reading reunion in there somewhere? :)
DeleteGreat first lines, everyone!
ReplyDeleteI’m cheating and posting 2 since I write under two names in two different genres.
I like to use a thought, as I do in A Hunter’s Angel, or a line of dialogue as in my first three Colton Gambler books.
Gambling On A Secret (Lyrical Press/Jan 2013)— “You’re twenty minutes late, Mr. Quinn. It wouldn’t hurt to show a little punctuality if you wanted a job.”
A Hunter Angel (available now, The Wild Rose Press)— Four dead bodies in four weeks on my watch do not make a good impression.
both are great lines, Sara!
DeleteAwesome first lines! :)
ReplyDeleteSince I write in the first person, I like opening with the main character making some sort of declaration that sets the tone for the rest of the book. The opening line of my novel, Breaking the Rules, is: I've never been good at keeping secrets from Oliver Frost.
oooh, interesting! So is she keeping the secret? Or did it just slip out of the bag? I'd have to read on for sure, Cat!
DeleteYou nailed it Kristi. If that first line sucks me in I'm more likely to get that book.
ReplyDeleteFirst line or first sentence? I'm going with a line.
He possessed her. Him--with his half-assed smile that never quite reached full moon status.
Unfortunately this may not remain as a first line, but move a little deeper in the ms. lol Does anything stay where we start with them?
The first lines I write in draft mode rarely stay - but I hope this one of yours does, Calisa. Verra nice!
DeleteReading these first lines makes me rethink mine. The first is from a story I've worked on rewriting it for about the third time. I finished it started to edit and revise to make it better and ran into major roadblocks and scrapped it and began fresh. Here is the opening line.
ReplyDeleteAmy struggled to hold onto her squirming eighteen-month-old daughter and fit her key into the lock.
I struggle a lot with first lines. The first line of my published novel, Storm Chaser, is:
ReplyDelete"A funnel-shaped column, dark as the roiling clouds above, ripped through a bean field to within half a mile of Chance Hamlin."
But it depends on the type of story, of course. I just submitted "Coming Attractions" to the So You Think You Can Write contest from Harlequin, and the first line there isn't nearly as life threatening:
"Maddie saw trouble ahead as soon as she stepped off the company airplane."
Great topic Kristina.
ReplyDeleteFirst line from The Silver Rose to be released 26 November this year is:
Aden Dragunis arrived in Raven’s Creek late one Sunday in September in the wake of a southerly squall fresh from the Antarctic.
It's a paranormal romance.
Wow! I want to read every one of these books just based on the first lines! What a great blog, Kristi! Here's the first sentence of my WIP Love's Spirit, the sequel to Love's Destiny:Emily Brentwood slowly rose to consciousness steeling herself against the assault of anguish and sorrow that accosted her at every dawn
ReplyDelete