"A novel's opening is like a pick up line. If it's good, you might take it home.
If it's bad... well. You know.
What are your favorite first lines? How do your own WIPs start?"
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| Photo credit: YA Highway |
So anyway, that was unintentionally depressing...
Some favorite first lines (or paragraphs):
Some favorite first lines (or paragraphs):
The Sky is Everywhere: Gram is worried about me. It's not just because my sister Bailey died four weeks ago, or because my mother hasn't contacted me in sixteen years, or even because suddenly all I think about is sex. She's worried about me because one of her houseplants has spots.
And because we saw this crazy mansion in Ireland last week and subsequently watched a bunch of Harry Potter movies (if that isn't Hogwarts, what is?), here's another great first line:Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.
Harry Potter sure does have a great opening line. I also love the opening line from The Golden Compass:
ReplyDeleteLyra and her daemon moved through the darkening hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen.
It's great because the rest of the trilogy is centered around exactly that - "Lyra and her daemon." Awesome stuff.
Agreed, the HP opening line is so amazing. That Jo Rowling sure knows how to do it.
ReplyDeleteAnd WOW. You totally found Hogwarts! (gorgeous)
I totally agree that the HP opener is amazing. You know right away that it's going to be kind of quirky, voicey, and awesome. The Sky is Everywhere's first paragraph sounds great, too, but I haven't read that one yet! (I know, I'm like the only one left, right?)
ReplyDeleteAnd OMG Hogwarts!!
Great picks! I adore The Sky is Everywhere and blogged about it today too. And of course, Jo Rowling is a genius when it comes to hooking readers. That castle is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteTHE SKY IS EVERYWHERE is at the top of my MUSTREAD list...and this post just makes me want to read it that much more. Also, love the mansion pic :)
ReplyDeleteI want to read this book so bad! I need more time in my day.
ReplyDeleteFirst, because I'm obnoxious, the first Harry Potter is the Sorcerer's Stone, not the Chamber of Secrets...
ReplyDeleteSecond, I have too many favorite first lines. I picked four:
The Catcher in the Rye "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."
1984: "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."
Fahrenheit 451: "It was a pleasure to burn."
Haroun and the Sea of Stories: "There was once, in the country of Alifbay, a sad city, the saddest of cities, a city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name. It stood by a mournful sea fill of glumfish, which were so miserable to seat that they made people belch with melancholy even though the skies were blue."
Longest comment ever; I'm done.
Love you.
Love HP. The Sky is Everywhere is one of those books where I keep asking myself why I haven't read it yet!
ReplyDeleteI picked HP, too! And WOW that castle is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThose lines are awesome. I really, really need to pick up The Sky Is Everywhere. And gorg photo. *swoon*
ReplyDelete@Ariana - I've never read The Golden Compass, but it has a great opening line! I thought the first line of The Sky Is Everywhere had the same effect of instantly establishing what the book was going to be about and quickly grounding the reader.
ReplyDelete@Sarah - it's a place called Kylemoore in Connemara, Ireland... totally dumped while we were there, but it was beautiful.
@Kaitlin - you MUST read that book! I'm sure you'd love it.
@AmongDahlias - I know, when I opened up my copy of TSIE to copy down the line, I really wanted to read the whole thing cover-to-cover again. So good!
@Karla - yep, you must. It's a brilliant booK!
@Pam - I do too... omg.
@Anna - nope, not obnoxious. Thanks. That's an awkward mistake...haha. I've been making sooooo many weird typos lately (probably because I've written 5 long papers in the last couple of days. insane.) Okay, and that 1984 first line is so epic. I still remember feeling so creeped out with the idea of a clock striking thirteen. I checked out "Catcher in the Rye" this summer ... but never got around to it. It's on my must-read. Love yoU! (and ps: mine is also the longest comment ever...)
@Meredith - maybe I should have a give-away contest when TSIE comes out in paperback so you all can win it and read it!
@Abby - So many people picked HP :) It's a classic.
@Kristin - I swooned, too. (Then ran into the gift shop because the rain was blowing sideways. Oh Ireland).
That's one of the best first paragraphs ever! I love THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE. Talk about a compelling way to fit in a crapload of backstory without weighing anything down.
ReplyDeleteFirst: I'm super jealous of whoever owns that castle. WANT.
ReplyDeleteSecond: If THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE wasn't already on my TBR list, it would be now. What an awesome opener. "She is worried about me because one of her houseplants has spots." Oh. My.
Loved both those openings. And that picture is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThose are both excellent books : ) Clearly the first paragraph test works!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I totally just found my future house....
Ah, I read the first line of Everywhere in a bookstore and swooned. Must pick that one up.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I just gave you an award on my blog...feel free to stop by and pick it up : )
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