 Opening Lines of a Novel. So much, needs to be achieved, in the opening line and page of a novel. The first sentence is, supposed to make you not want to put the book down, it should create tension, make a promise that must later be kept, one the reader will stay to see fulfilled. This is a tall order. Without giving my opening sentence away, there are three people involved in the sentence and two are being instructed to do something and a promise is being made to them, about something out of the ordinary, that is about to happen. I believe that will work. Within, three paragraphs, we have the personality of two of the characters developing and conflict increasing. The entire opening passage develops the character of these two, hints at the actions though little of the character of the other whose nature will remain a mystery until the second chapter as seen through their eyes. Voted Ten BEST Opening lines for a Novel 1/ Call me Ishmael. 2/ It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. 3/ A screaming comes across the sky. 4/Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. 5/ Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. 6/Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. 7/ riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs. 8/ It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. 9/ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. 10/ I am an invisible man. No wholesale jewelry prize for guessing that these have to be the:- Ten Worst Opening Lines for a Novel 1) Sex with Isaac had been like an experiment wherein she had accidentally mixed ammonia and bleach, burned her eyebrows off, lost all sense of smell for weeks, and never saw the family cat again. 2) McMurphy hit the pavement running like a paper bag filled with vegetable soup. 3) Had she known Duncan was a psychopath who would seduce, then brutally murder her, she wouldn't have bought that screwdriver. 4) Ralph looked over at the rumpled form of Lila sleeping next to him in bed and wondered idly why making love with her made him feel as though his body had been pounded by heavy surf. 5) In these uncertain times, one must think of others' viewpoints, and always remember that a crowded elevator smells different to a midget. 6) The scent of sweat from the horse's buttock wafted into his left nostril, past the fine cilia of his nose, through the nasal cavity and into the dark damp depths of his single emphysemic lung. 7) Stanley looked quite bored and somewhat detached, but then penguins often do. 8) The potted palm made a feeble attempt at photosynthesis with the naked 25 watt bulb that hung from the cracked plaster of my low-rent office on a less-than-desirable (unless you were vermin) stretch of Pico. 9) He wanted to hold her forever, but he knew eventually that he'd have to take a whizz. 10) Her breasts were like ripe strawberries, but much bigger, a completely different colour, not as bumpy, and without the little green things on top. What are Your favorite, Opening Lines of a Novel?  CommentsSheridan 07/24/2010 04:42
I love these lines, I have heard of a couple of the best ones, the worst ones made me laugh out loud, what were some authors thinking! Comments are closed. |
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