Thursday, 24 January 2013

Opening lines

Patsy has a post on the famous opening line: "It was a dark and stormy night", and this got me thinking about opening lines. Just out of interest, what is the opening line of your current WIP (novel, short story, poem or whatever)?

For what it's worth (not a lot at the moment), mine is:
"It had been so easy to drown Caspar."
 
I shall now get back to it...
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37 comments:

  1. Jill24 January 2013 at 15:59

    Mine...."The three men sat quietly in the private waiting room outside the ICU...

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  2. Wendy's Writing24 January 2013 at 18:52

    Mine is: …and so you see, it’s for the best if we don’t see each other again.

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    1. Frances Garrood24 January 2013 at 22:16

      But I bet they get together in the end...

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    2. Wendy's Writing25 January 2013 at 14:03

      How could you possibly think that?...oh ok - they do.

      Delete
  3. Tim24 January 2013 at 18:54

    "Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came down from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed."

    Oh. I'm told that's already been used. I'll get back to you ...

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    1. Frances Garrood24 January 2013 at 22:17

      If I knew you better, Tim, I might just say you were...er... being economical with the truth?

      Delete
  4. GB24 January 2013 at 19:08

    !. It is a matchless morning in rural England.
    2. The house was named "The Cave"
    3. First the colours
    I rarely read one book at a time.

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    Replies
    1. Frances Garrood24 January 2013 at 22:20

      It's supposed to be the book you're writing, not the one you're reading, GB! (Unless, of course, you're writing three at once?)

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    2. GB25 January 2013 at 05:17

      Ah. WIP. Missed that. Silly me.

      Delete
  5. GB24 January 2013 at 20:30

    By the way is it your intention to try and see how many of the first lines you recognise?

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  6. L24 January 2013 at 21:29

    Mine is:
    Take it with a pinch of salt if you wish, but the snake bangle had always been my lucky charm.

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  7. Librarian25 January 2013 at 06:45

    Not writing anything but blog posts and emails these days, so I can't comment.
    Oops, I just have done!

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  8. Joanna25 January 2013 at 09:27

    Although she was dead, Avery's daughter stood beside him as he locked the front door.

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  9. Patsy25 January 2013 at 10:24

    I like that opening, Frances.

    My current WIP is at an early stage (and there's very little W or P currently involved)

    Jess stopped in front of a life-size photographic montage of a gorgeous, naked man.

    Thanks for the mention!

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  10. Frances Garrood25 January 2013 at 18:39

    Gorgeous naked man. Hmmm. Perhaps I was a nurse for too long?

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  11. Anonymous25 January 2013 at 20:08

    Hi Frances, here's mine.
    Denise Gambon looked up at the sign of Spencer Greenwasy Hat factory as she made her way through the entrance.

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  12. shabby girl26 January 2013 at 00:55

    Love your opening line! Ha!

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  13. hyperCRYPTICal26 January 2013 at 01:27

    Mine is: She has been stabilised on Lithium

    ...but has she?

    Poor Caspar!

    Anna :o]

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    1. Frances Garrood26 January 2013 at 09:33

      I'm going to have to ask for next lines, too. I want to know about the lithium!

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  14. Yvonne Osborne26 January 2013 at 03:22

    Since you asked....
    It was a peaceful morning in the lowlands of the river district when high above the trees that lined the drainage ditch on the Sopal farm, the first vulture appeared.

    I like the drowning of Caspar. Short and catchy

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    1. Frances Garrood26 January 2013 at 09:35

      How lovely and serene, Yvonne. (re Caspar - I'm turning to crime, and rather enjoying it!)

      Delete
  15. Maggie May26 January 2013 at 13:48

    I don't do novels, but my last short story began: Cynthia stared at the man standing outside the art gallery. What could they possibly have in common.

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  16. Fran Hill27 January 2013 at 13:29

    Sometimes the hardest thing about having a friend staying with you - when you’re post-menopausal and your body tissues aren’t as elastic as they were - is the bladder problem.

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  17. Rosemary Gemmell27 January 2013 at 14:41

    Love your first line, Frances.

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  18. Maggie May28 January 2013 at 11:10

    They didn't actually end up together Frances. It became a crime story, not a romance. I didn't know where it was going until I decided to spice things up and she robbed him of his wallet and made a get-away. Which is probably why I can't write for the womans' mags!

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    1. Frances Garrood28 January 2013 at 16:03

      But apparently they're crying out for "cosy crime" (though I've never quite worked out what that is). Try it on them!

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  19. Yvonne Osborne28 January 2013 at 12:52

    Crime could be fun. I don't think I could ever do comic but I bet I could do crime!

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    1. Frances Garrood28 January 2013 at 16:06

      I'm quie enjoying bumping people off. Well, it makes a change...

      Delete

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