Heather Reid's FAVORITE FIRST LINES - Compare to your TOP TEN

As writers, it’s drilled into our heads that the first line in a book is the most important line. We toil and fret over every word. We wonder if it’s strong enough to hook an agent, and editor, a reader. This is the thing that keeps us up at night and taunts our muse to madness. Instead of listing my favorite first lines, I decided instead to go back to ten of my favorite books to see how the authors I fangirl over started their books.

‘I bear a deep red stain that runs from my left shoulder down to my right hip, a trail left by the herbwitch’s poison that my mother used to try to expel me from her womb. – Grave Mercy by Robin LeFevers

‘A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct.” – Dune by Frank Herbert

‘It is so appropriate to color hope yellow, like the sun we seldom saw.’ Flowers In The Attic by V.C. Andrews.

‘Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told she would kill her true love.’ The Raven Boys- Maggie Stiefvater

‘My pen falters, then falls from my knuckly grip, leaving a worm’s trail of ink across Fedwren’s paper. – Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

‘The naked child ran out of the hide-covered lean-to toward the rocky beach at the bend in the small river.’ Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel

‘Jack Torrence thought: Officious little prick.’ The Shining by Stephen King

“We shouldn’t go back,” Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them. – Game of Thrones by George RR Martin.

‘It is a truth, universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

And last, but not least. . .

‘It was a dark and stormy night.’ – A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle

This one took me by surprise. Really? How could one of my all-time favorite children’s book and a classic start with a line that is often parodied and scolded as a huge no-no? Upon further research, I found that she chose this cliché on purpose, echoing the first line from 19th-century novelists, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton’s “Wrinkle”. Goes to show, if you’re going to break a rule, you better have a good reason.

What are the first lines from your favorite books? How do they stack up to today’s standars?

 Heather L. Reid

Pretty Dark Nothing, Month9Books, April, 2013
Book 2 (Title to be announced), Month9Books, 2014

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FAVORITE FIRST LINE by Kate Evangelista

~Source~

So many books, so many opening lines. That’s why I really had to think about this post. I looked at my favorite books. I looked at my least favorite books. Nothing really stood out until I dug deep into my college days. The opening line that stuck with me over the years is an iconic one: “Call me Ishmael.” Even those who have not read Mody Dick know this line, or is at least familiar with it.

Because I’m a literature major, Moby Dick was on my reading list. I am happy to report that I finished reading this book. Did not even cheat or anything. Of course, it’s more a whaling manual than a work of fiction, but who can resist Captain Ahab and his quest for the white whale?

Three words, “Call me Ishmael,” bring you into the story right away. It’s a conversation between you and Ishmael, the narrator. But I won’t bore you with details about Moby Dick. If you haven’t read it, put it on your bucket list. What I like most about this opening line is its almost Shakespearean quality. It’s just as good as “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” or “To be, or not to be.”

As a side note, did you know, according to the Urban Dictionary “Call me Ishmael” is actually a phrase used to refer to a fat woman? Meaning she’s a white whale. Insulting, I know, but that’s how iconic this line is. The moment someone uses it as a pop culture reference it’s made it to the generation’s psyche.

Alright, thanks for hanging out with me today for my turn at the DDYA blog. Please make sure to follow me on Twitter and like my FB Page for the latest on what I’ve got going on. My latest release is called Til Death from Entangled Teen. Visit my website for a complete list of my titles and a link to my blog.

In accordance to the theme of this post, here’s Til Death’s opening line:

“Banshees.”

Yup. One word.

Make sure to grab your copy to find out why.

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Happy reading!