First Lines

As any writer will tell you, the first line/sentence/paragraph of your book needs to hit the reader just right. If that first little introduction doesn't draw them in, then nothing will. The way in which the intro hits will depend entirely on the reader, but also you as the writer.

Is it supposed to be atmospheric? A little dry humor? Snarky? Snarly? The only one who can say is you (and make sure you pass that along to anyone possibly recording the audiobook version, if you can afford one).

Now, there are a ton of blogs and articles and videos offering to help you craft the perfect first line of your book ... and this isn't one of them. In reality, the only truly perfect openings to a book involve your own story–the general theme, the target audience, and your own writing style basically need to be expressed in that first paragraph–and how you want it to start. If it hits right for you, and you're your target audience, then chances are it will hit right with your target audience. Otherwise, the best advice is to find someone in your target audience who will give you constructive feedback if it doesn't hit the way it should.

Anyway, so what is this post about then? Easy: my stuff. I was in the shower today and came up with a beautiful opening line that I needed to put in the Random Shit ASAP before I forgot it. This, of course, led me to thinking about all of the other opening lines I'm proud to have thought up. Therefore, I'm just going to list some of my favorites that have come out of my own brain.

1. The house was the most beautiful I'd ever seen. ~ Ivy, Book 1 in the Prideful Magick Collection

As expected, I had to start with Ivy. Who wouldn't? Moreover, I started with this line because it's the one that caused my helpful editors some discomfort. For some, it didn't make sense and felt like a fragment. (Which is fair; I write a lot of fragments. Of course, I think in fragments, too.) For others, they read it as it was meant and they had no issue with it. After some fiddling with it, I chose to keep it in its original form and I've never regretted it. Especially when you consider how pivotal that house is throughout the entire series.

2. One day, I would pay the balance for the damage done. When I was done inflicting it.

   ~ Valerian, Book 3 in the Prideful Magick Collection

For the longest time, Valerian was probably the darkest book I've written. As far as emotional upheaval, it probably always will be. For that reason, I love how accurately the first two sentences represent what the rest of the book will be. It's clearly all about the chaos in the first line, and the blame can be immediately assigned in the second.

3. Was there a word for genocide against one's own species?

   ~ Demon Kin: The Queen, Book 1 in the Demon Kin novels

This is the book where I struggled to get a profound opening line for a while. I'd gone on a reading binge through all of those blogs and articles about openings and hooking readers and blah, blah, blah. Not only did those things not keep me hooked, but they bored me to tears, regurgitated everyone else's notes on the subject, and couldn't follow their own advice by being engaging in any way. It was torturous. Anyway... After all the nonsense, this is the line I kept coming back to. Why? Because it was an actual question I had asked and tried to answer when writing this book. And sometimes that's just what works. If you have to ask yourself the question, then maybe your characters are asking the same question. If it's important enough to the theme, then why not make it the first line? So that's what I did.

4. The last time I saw Evan, he was imaginary. The first time I saw him, he was even more real than me. ~ Believe Everything

This was probably another shower thought, if I'm being honest. (Lots of those. Need to start keeping a notebook in the bathroom at this rate.) That said, I've loved it from the moment it popped into my head. It's lyrical, odd, and interesting enough to make you wonder what in the world the MC is talking about. Which, of course, makes it a great hook.

5. Success can best be measured by the enemies you make. Not by the sheer number, but by those most willing to induce your demise.

   ~ The Bell Yard

Not gonna lie, I totally forgot about this one until I was going through old drafts to reread the first lines. I forgot how absolutely brutal this one was, and I love everything about it. Not sure it will survive any rewrites for this particular novel (I'll have to reexamine how well it fits the theme of the book), but I'm definitely patting myself on the back for its existence. (For a second, I thought I had quoted someone and did not actually mention the person. Then I read the next line and realized that I actually had made that up myself. Shocker!)

6. It's not the screams that terrify me. It's the silence that follows.

   ~ Star Sworn, Book 1 in the Ruina Star Duology

This one took a long time to get right. And everything that follows it may be scrapped or rewritten, but these lines have haunted me for a few years now. I just hope that one day I will actually sit down and begin the rewrite and successfully separate the story into two books. Wish me luck.

7. The first time the omens lied, they said I would die.

   ~ Untitled Augur Novel, Book 1

This right here is the reason I wrote this entire blog post. This was my crowning achievement of shower ideas for today. For some context, I play Sims. (I've played 1-4, most expansion packs; I'm a pro.) I made a random, spellcaster character with a scar down the one side of her face and a haircut that hides most of it. Of course I was going to make a story out of that. Especially when you consider I also have Vampires, Werewolves, and the Paranormal packs. There are plantsims, mermaids, and aliens in this game. If you think I'm not going to use everything about my sims game to influence the entirety of the story I will now write, you are sorely mistaken.

In all honesty, I made the character, decided that her scarred face and lack of parents meant there was a tragic backstory, and decided to throw ideas at the wall to see them stick. Most of them stuck. This opening line, however, sticks the hardest and I love it. Why? Because it's such a versatile opening that we can now start the story in two completely separate ways. Both of them perfect. Let me show you:

Option A

What I love about this option is that it is an automatic scene jumper. Which means, what comes after this will force us into an inciting incident of some kind. It sets you up with the tone of the character (jaded, slightly bitter, and acerbic thoughts), which in turn will set the tone of the story since it's FPP (first person perspective). It also hints at past bad experiences, which is a great hook for readers because it makes them question what happened.

Then there's this...

Option B

This is the opening you give when you're about to lay down some backstory. It's not a vision or a nightmare of past events. It's very clearly the MC about to sit you down and tell you about some evil things that happened to her. Honestly, I thought about putting the entire backstory in a prologue with an Author's Note at the beginning that says, 'The prologue is skippable. All of the details contained within will be revealed throughout the series, but for those of you that want to know what happened now, this is for you.' In reality, though, pacing will probably dictate that I go with Option A, and Option B will probably become bonus content on my site one day. Assuming I can put ass in chair, fingers on keyboard, and take the book from brain to page. Again, wish me luck.

And on that note, I'm going to go play Sims. (Because, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, I cannot remember what I named that character, and renaming her now is not an option.)