Happy writing,
Martina
In most cases, our senses lead the way for us, letting us know if something is worth our attention or not. This goes for the first lines of stories as well. The key to having a great first line is to hook the reader and have him/her turn page after page. It acts as an appetizer. It can help set up the tone of the book and describe where the story is taking place. It is always a good idea to open that first line with the main character in order to familiarize the reader. The best advice I can give anyone is write a line that instantly grabs the reader, makes him/her curious, and leaves an impression. Something memorable. This doesn’t mean hitting the reader with an action scene at the beginning, and then two paragraphs later make them wonder what happened all of a sudden.
Some of my favourite first lines:
I greeted his tombstone the way I always did—with a swift kick. ~COLORS LIKE MEMORIES by Meradeth Houston
This line drew me in. I was curious to know why she kicked someone’s tombstone. The mood I found on this one was maybe the character was frustrated, but I wanted to know why.
It was the biggest night of my life, but all I could think about was my cheetah bra. ~BITTERSWEET by Sarah Ockler
I loved this one because of the contrast between it being the biggest night of the character’s life and her cheetah bra. I really wanted to know why she was looking for it. And besides, the comparison between life and bra made me smile.
It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure. ~DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver
This opening had me curious. I knew that this book was about love, but that it is declared a disease had my curiosity meter rolling. Why would love, one of the strongest emotions of all, be declared a disease?
What do you think about first lines of the novel? Do you have any memorable ones?
About the Author
Cecilia Robert lives in Vienna with her two children, has an incurable obsession with books, anything romantic, TV and medieval architecture. When not working in her full time job, catching up with her two children, writing or reading, she can be found, knitting or crocheting, taking photos of old buildings.
Cecilia's Blog
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About the Book
17- year- old Ana Maria Tei’s life has always been perfect: loving parents, good grades, and a future so bright it outshone the sun. But now words like “separation” and “divorce” are sending her world plummeting to hell. Determined to keep her family intact, Ana plans a family-bonding trip from Vienna to Tuscany. Except fate has other plans. Ana’s parents and siblings are killed in a car accident on their way to pick Ana up from school.
Enter Grim, aka Ernest. He promises to relinquish the four souls if Ana agrees to trade her soul for theirs and serve a lifetime as his novice. In order for Ana to graduate from her Reaper’s Novice station to a Soul Collector graduate, Grim puts her to test. To her horror, she finds out becoming a Reaper’s Novice didn’t happen by chance. It was preordained, and she is forced to make a choice: save her family’s souls or come to terms with who she really is and complete the task set for her.
Buy Reaper's Novice on Amazon
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Whoa, this sound like a great read! Glad you told me about it. It's going on my TBR list!
ReplyDeleteThanks, LM! :)
DeleteI actually like the cover a lot the color swirling around her. Sounds pretty cool too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brandon!:)
DeleteHopping over, Martina.
ReplyDeleteCecilia's cover is gorgeous! Love the colors.
Thank you, SA. :)
DeleteHa! I especially love that first one!! that's my kind of line. :D
ReplyDeleteTrue, Lisa. That first line sold the story for me. loved it. :)
DeleteThanks for the shout-out! Seriously appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteThank YOU. :) That line is one of my favourites, Meradeth. Really enjoyed the story as well.
DeleteHi, Cecilia,
ReplyDeleteI agree that first lines need to bring up questions that need answers and so grab readers' attention.
The blurb makes me wonder too who Ana Maria is.
J.L. Campbell writes Jamaican Kid Lit
I completely agree with you, J.L.
DeleteAna has a few surprises coming her way in this one!:)
Thank you for hosting me, Martina! :)
ReplyDeleteFirst lines are certainly important in hooking a reader. Sparking that curiosity, that need to know, is part of the reader's need to keep on turning the pages.
ReplyDelete:-)
Well said, Angela! :)
DeleteI guess Toni Morrison's first line of Paradise, "They shoot the white girl first." has to be right up there at the top of any list of great first lines. Fun topic.
ReplyDeleteOh, how could I have missed that line...it definitely hit my curiosity meter when I first saw the book at the library a while back. Great one, Rosi! :)
DeleteI love, love, love Sarah Ockler's books, and that opening line is classic. And it's a great illustration of the difference one little conjunction can make. How different would it be to open with:
ReplyDeleteIt was the biggest night of my life, all all I could think about was my cheetah bra.
versus
It was the biggest night of my life, but all I could think about was my cheetah bra.
As you said, it's the contrast that pulls me in.
Great post, Cecilia! Thanks so much for doing it for us. We've loved having you on the blog!