There is something beautiful and terrifying about a blank page. Endless possibilities. A thousand worlds, lives, and actions lie at your fingertips. But as soon you set down that first word – or that first letter of the first word – you have limited your possibilities. Before, the sky was the limit. And after? The limit resides in whatever muddled mess your highly caffeinated brain can concoct.
If you’ve been around the writing or reading game for any length of time, you will know that first lines are terribly (an wonderfully) important. Have you ever picked a book up in a bookstore, flipped open to the first page, and then bought the book based on the first lines alone?
I know I have.
But in my opinion, it’s not only the first lines of the book, but the first lines of each chapter and scene that can help make or break your novel. Coming up with so many eye-catching first lines can be daunting, to say the least. I’m currently diving into the first draft of Book Three in the Songkeeper Chronicles – at the moment, I’m somewhere in between the two stages of #firstdraftwoes and #firstdraftbliss – and the more I’ve been playing around with my beginning, the more it seems like all the excellent first lines are already taken!
Let me throw a few attempts your way, and you’ll see what I mean.
In a hole in the ground there lived a Songkeeper.
Granted, this takes the story in a slightly different direction than I was originally intending… but there’s just something about this line that reads “classic.” Don’t you agree?
Once there were four children whose names were Ky, Cade, Paddy, and Meli.
“Once” sounds rather fairytale-ish. It just doesn’t set the right tone for this story. And for some reason, I keep picturing lions, witches, and wardrobes … Not to mention a faun and a lamp post. Not sure what’s up with that.
Amos was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that … Old Amos was as dead as a doornail.
Oh dear, spoiler alert! Can’t believe I let that one slip … Just kidding! You can hold onto your knives, stow your daggers, and dispose of all that rotten fruit you were about to send my way. Once again though, the voice is just not quite right for the Songkeeper Chronicles. Though it is certainly eye catching …
(Did I say I was just kidding?)
Ky wanted to make a sword; but Cade, charged with the practical side of his education, decided on horseshoes.
Oddly enough, this one almost fits with the characters in question. Except backwards. Cade being the son of a swordsmith and all … and Ky being the more practical one.
Well, as you can see, I’m stumped. Any lovely (false) book beginnings you would care to suggest for the start of Book Three of the Songkeeper Chronicles? Top points to anyone who can correctly quote the first lines I mentioned above!
Very tongue in cheek, yours most (in)sincerely,
Gillian Bronte Adams
The Hobbit, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, A Christmas Carol, The Book of Three.
:)
What a fun and hilarious post!
Hm, here are a few ideas to add to your repertoire:
“Call me Ky.” (of course, you’d probably have to change the entire book to first person…)
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a Songkeeper in possession of all her wits, must be in want of a husband.” (Romance for Birdie?)
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was an age of songkeepers, it was an age of the Takhran, it was an epoch of the Underground, it was an epoch of the Khelari, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of foolishness, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” (I think this one could actually work for your story!)
“You don’t know about me without you having read a book by the name of Orphan’s Song, but that ain’t no matter.” (but who would be speaking?)
:)
Love the Tale of Two Cities one! It’s amazing how well it fits, actually. :) And how could you go wrong with Huck Finn?
So, we’ve got The Hobbit; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; A Christmas Carol; and The Book of Three up there.
How about this:
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a young girl in possession of a mysterious Song must be in want of an adventure.”
Nicely done, Sarah! Four for four.
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” I most likely won’t ever forget that one, I love reading The Hobbit!
“Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.” Yep, won’t forget that one either :).
I’m not sure about the others, but I definitely recognized the first two the moment I read them :).
I have decided to get a book from the first lines alone before, I agree that they are pretty important. I don’t have a terribly hard time writing first lines for my stories, problem is, I normally think of too many possible first lines. Then it gets pretty hard to choose which one to use :).
Well … I think I’d take your problem over mine. Haha. Still, I know that I stress too much over that first line in the first draft. Honestly, I can come back and fix it later. I shouldn’t let it hold me up.
‘Taran wanted to make a sword; but Coll, charged with the practical side of his education, decided on horseshoes.’ From “The Book of Three,” by Lloyd Alexander. One of my all-time favorites. : D I don’t know the third one, though. What is it?
I totally understand you on #firstdraftwoes…. I’m a perfectionist, so for the first draft I’m usually covering my eyes and holding my nose and trying not to overthink it.
I love the Book of Three! And that whole series. It’s just so marvelous.
The third one is from A Christmas Carol talking about Jacob Marley. I couldn’t resist the temptation to replace Marley with Amos …
Yes, perfectionism is a curse and blessing. You know that you’ll always push yourself harder than you have before … but sometimes it can be so hard to move on before something is as close to perfect as you can get it!
Hobbit, Narnia, Christmas Carol. And I feel like I should know the last one, but for the life of me, I’m not calling anything to mind.
Perhaps: It is a fact universally acknowledged that a Songkeeper in possession of a song, must be in want of music to sing it by.
Or something like that. Just an idea.
It’s from the Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. Such a good book!
I messed with that Pride and Prejudice first line but I couldn’t come up with anything! Y’all are much more creative than I am!
Book of Three. Yes, very much a good book. As I said, I felt like I should know it, but I couldn’t call it off the top of my head.
Eh, it’s what came to mind when you asked for suggestions. Actually, the opening line of my own book is a spoof on that line. But it fits the book because the MC is always quoting the classics.
Oh my gosh! When I read that one about Amos dying, I thought I was about to die myself. And I really hope you are kidding… Please?
Anyways, I’m sure you’ll come up with an amazing first line for this amazing third book. Could you perhaps say when the second one is coming out?
Aw, I love Amos! So it makes this author ridiculously happy that you all care about him too. Well, I’ve penciled in my potential “first lines,” but I’m sure they’ll get tweaked a bit before the end. The second book is coming out Spring 2016. It was originally supposed to release this fall, but my car accident last year pushed everything back just a little bit.
This is so funny! *laughs* The first us from “The Hobbit”. The second from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. The last is from “The Book of Three”, but the third…hmm….
And I have to warn you, if you ever do kill Amos off, I really will want to throw tomatoes at you. ; )
Good eye! The third is from A Christmas Carol.
Challenge accepted.
Just kidding! I consider myself duly warned. :)
Oh Gillian, you always make me laugh with such delight!!! Yep, I recognized each one!
“This book is largely concerned with Humans, and from its pages a reader may discover much of their character and a little of their history.”
Music swept through Birdie’s body and soul, translating across spoken words and intent. Music was bane and gift, maybe even a curse at times, she thought as part of her shrank from the notes echoing along her spirit.
Birdie said she would buy the flowers herself.
Birdie, Songkeeper of Leira, wore white on the day she was to kill a king.
“CY!”
No answer.
“CY!”
No answer.
“What’s gone with that boy, I wonder? ”
Betrayal. The word had a pleasant ring to it. Amos could become accustomed to the shape of it on his tongue…
OH MY GOODNESS. XD I love all of those (and recognize them all as well — nice to see The Book of Three get some notice! ^_^)
I know exactly what you mean, though… I just started a new story myself and… eek. It’s very daunting! Hope book 3 goes well for you!! (ALSO DON’T YOU DARE KILL AMOS AAAAAAHH. D: Hee. Heehee. Not funny. XD)
Haha. These are cute the first three are the Hobbit, Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the Christmas Carol. XD
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What a clever post! All the lines made me smile, and I was proud that I recognized them! Yes, I’ve picked up books based solely on the first line. Your definitely right that the first lines of every chapter are important, too. Outstanding job!
Possible Opening Lines: It was almost time to attack, and Amos was beginning to feel frightened. No, wrong word.