Until you turn on the faucet
the bowl is empty
Until you read the first line
the story is empty
Here is a first line I like:
On a continent of many songs, in a country shaped like the arm of a tall guitarrista, the rain drummed down on the town of Temuco.
--from The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan
Do you have a favorite first line?
"I was born with water on the brain." -from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
ReplyDeleteYour rain line reminded me of another:
ReplyDeleteThe weather came up from the south, a warm passing rain that left the October sky clear and the pavement steaming, and from a distance it looked as thought the woman on the bicycle, her black skirt rippling in the liquid breeze, was riding through the clouds.
-- from "Third and Indiana" by Steve Lopez
(It's a book but I can't seem to italicize on here.)
Great line . . .
DeleteFunny enough, my favorite first line is about a sink! From I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, by Dodie Smith: "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. That is, my feet are in it; the rest of me is on the draining board."
ReplyDeleteFunny enough, my favorite first line is about a sink! From I CAPTURE THE CASTLE by Dodie Smith: "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. That is, my feet are in it; the rest of me is on the draining board."
ReplyDelete"By 1899 we had learned to tame the dark, but not the Texas heat." From The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. <3
ReplyDeleteTwo recent ones that have stuck in my head:
ReplyDeleteThere was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife. --Neil Gaimon's The Graveyard Book
I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be hanged. Now, if you please. --Franny Billingsley's Chime.
this pmr opener is a beauty.
ReplyDelete"Where's Papa going with that ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteAnd thus began my lifelong love affair with children's books. :)
I, too, love that line!
DeleteThe boys down on the Low Quay know a hundred ways to sell bad fish.--Sheri Holman's THE DRESS LODGER
ReplyDelete"Is Heaven missing an angel tonight? Then why are you in this seedy bar tonight?" Oh, not that kind of line.
ReplyDeleteHow about, "It was a dark and stormy night..." Just messin'.
However at the opposite end of a story. I have heard that some authors like to write their last lines first. Ever tried that? I hear John Irving did it in "Last Night in Twisted River".
Favorites: Your first lines, of course! And then, so many to choose from, but here is one:
ReplyDeleteAs summer wheat came ripe,
so did I. ~ Out of the Dust
Such a pure & clear vessel, that bowl, waiting to be filled with possibilities...
Birdman: Have never written last line first, but I've heard other writers say they have . . .
ReplyDelete"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Anna Karenina--How could anyone forget that first line?
ReplyDeleteI discovered an intriguing first line today in a book I discovered at a neighbor's garage sale: " September 13-- I don't want to because boys don't write poetry." Love That Dog
Have a good week-end!
Ooh, yes, I rather like that line from the garage sale book. xx
Delete"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Anna Karenina--How could anyone forget that first line?
ReplyDeleteI discovered an intriguing first line today in a book I discovered at a neighbor's garage sale: " September 13-- I don't want to because boys don't write poetry." Love That Dog
Have a good week-end!
This opening two-sentence paragraph grabs me no matter how many times I re-read it -- http://bit.ly/NcukUF
ReplyDelete"I had a farm in Africa, near the River Ngong .." Karen Blixen
ReplyDelete" Longtemps , je me suis levé de bonne heure" Proust
Malyss: the Blixen line is a favorite of mine, too.
Delete