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I noticed on amazon that they pulled a line out of A MAGIC OF TWILIGHT and put it underneath the title. Which got me to wondering...
How important is the first line of a novel to a reader? I would think that it's not as important as the first line of a short story, since readers tend to be more 'patient' with a novel. But does the first line of a novel matter? Do you expect to be hooked from line one?
I'm curious...
Just for grins, here are the first lines from each of my novels (in no particular order). Which one makes you most inclined to read on? And most importantly, why? Here they are:
For that matter, which one doesn't grab you, and why?
Or, for another game entirely, can you tell me which line belongs to which book? :-)
How important is the first line of a novel to a reader? I would think that it's not as important as the first line of a short story, since readers tend to be more 'patient' with a novel. But does the first line of a novel matter? Do you expect to be hooked from line one?
I'm curious...
Just for grins, here are the first lines from each of my novels (in no particular order). Which one makes you most inclined to read on? And most importantly, why? Here they are:
Thunder arrived as a stunning burst of light.
The lioness slipped through the tall, dry grass surrounding the house, her muscular haunches down as she stalked.
He woke up... somewhere.
McWIlms never let his hand stray far from the sheathed dagger's hilt.
She had a name, but she would not let it enter her thoughts.
Hell screamed behind them, a nightmare of fire and death.
Pause. And shiveringly inhale.
Jemi pushed the welding equipment into the navigational compartment.
Raw power smeared red and purple across the night sky, held captive in the glow of the mage-lights...
MUSIC UP:
"Talk about jumping out of the frying pan..."
Wednesday had to be the most depressing night of the week in any nightclub.
CosTa's belly ached, her stomach muscles drawn taut from lack of food over the last three days.
The autumn day was as hot as any in recent memory.
The pines nearest Torin Mallaghan sighed in the wind as if weary of holding up their branches.
The stone was a gift of the glowing sky.
If a city can have a gender, Nessantico was female.
SStragh stepped unsteadily from the floating stone into moonlit darkness, her bones aching from the cold, her nostrils full of the sharp smell of ozone from the time storm, her neck raw and torn from her fight with the Gairk Klaido.
"Hey!" Aaron shouted.
Green Town sweltered.
For that matter, which one doesn't grab you, and why?
Or, for another game entirely, can you tell me which line belongs to which book? :-)
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From:
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I seriously liked "Thunder arrived as a stunning burst of light." It's my favorite after "The stone was a gift of the glowing sky." I tend to like synesthesia, if it isn't overdone; probably because I experience it enough myself to understand how much better it can describe such an experience. In this particular case, whether thunder is what I expect it to be, or a person, either way, I have the image of the light which always precedes the sound, and the understanding that when they arrive almost simultaneously is when things are at their worst, in terms of storms.
Third favorite: "He woke up ... somewhere."
Least favorite: "Pause. And shiveringly inhale." This immediately made me stop to parse the sentence fragments. Pause: verb, second person imperative. Inhale: presumed to be the same. Shiveringly - awkward adverb. Oh, wait ... maybe Pause is a noun. But shiveringly is still an adverb?
By now, I've totally lost the whole point of the thing.
None of the examples you give, however, lead me to doubt your skill as a writer. (And I've added you to my "pick one up and see" list.)
The truth, however, is that while a great first sentence can cause me to settle down with a wriggle of sensual anticipation, a bad one won't stop me from reading further. I come to any story, long or short, with a willing suspension of both disbelief and self, eager to enter into a partnership with the author.
There are always exceptions, of course. "Eye of Aragorn" simply cannot be read with anything but hysterical laughter, and then only for a few paragraphs, at most. In general, however, less than stellar writing still entertains -- if for no other reason than I analyze what went wrong. I have thrown very few books against the wall. It takes more than just bad writing; it takes a complete break of trust. Play fair with me, and I can forgive most anything. Cheat me, and you die against the wall.
From:
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Exactly true for me, also.