It’s Sunday and time for another blog! I thought we might talk a little about writing this morning. There are many aspects of storytelling, but one that stands out is always the perfect first line.
Your first line should grab the readers’ interest and also tell the story. You should know everything about the story from the first line. Or at least the first paragraph—or first page. Your readers will lose interest quickly and it is your job to keep them interested.
Here are seven keys to a great first line:
First lines are vivid. They invite us into an image and lead us into a scene.
First lines establish a unique voice. It introduces characters who are interesting and make you want more.
First lines are surprising. What is this character doing?
First lines are funny. Even the most serious of stories could use a little humor.
First lines are true. An example is A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
First lines are clear. From the first line we immediately know who the narrator is and what the story is about.
First lines contain the entirety of the novel. The writer should compact the entire story line into one sentence.
This takes practice and like a lot of story tellers you don’t always know where your story is going—even with an outline. I often change my first line many times throughout the writing process. That’s okay. Once you know your ending, you know where your story begins.
Here are some good ideas for reading great first lines.
House of Night – P. C. Cast – “Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker.”
The Dark Tower Series – Stephen King – “The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.”
Percy Jackson – Rick Riordan – “Look I didn’t want to be a half-blood.”
Twilight – Stephanie Meyer – “I’d never given much thought to how I would die.”
American Gods – Neil Gaiman – “Shadow had done three years in prison.”
Flatiron Death Grip – Peggy Chambers – “All Teasy wanted was to save her neighborhood. She never guessed, she might also save the world.”
After telling your story, then use that same visual at the end to pull the story together. You have told the story and brought it full circle. This rule should apply to all fiction.
Tell me what you’re writing and how it begins. Grab a book off the shelf and see how the writer started it. Did it grab your attention? See if this exercise helps your writing to become more vivid. Let me know how it went.
There are no expert writers, only students of the craft. There is always something new to learn to make you a better writer.
What are you reading/writing today?
I attended Enid’s Fly Film Festival 
It’s raining in Oklahoma! And finally cooling down those intense temperatures. I looked out the front door and saw a large garter snake on the sidewalk trying to get out of the flooded flowerbeds that were cracked and dry last week. Hard to blame him. But rainy weather is a good time to write, and I’ve been working on my third novel on Sandhill Island. I’ll work some more on that today.
A few weeks ago, I got a message about the death of Jim Christina of The Writers’ Block online radio show on LA Talk Radio. Jim had become a friend over the years as he interviewed me several times when I had a new novel published. “Let us know when you have a new book, we’ll talk,” he’d say. I believed him and emailed them with a new publication and was always welcomed. Hopefully, I didn’t overstay my welcome. But he always made me feel at home.
It’s the dog days of summer! It’s been a while since we’ve seen temperatures this high and I’m ready for fall.
I’ve been writing. I’m working on the third Sandhill Island novel and as always, I love being back there. It helps to soothe my need for the sea.
This week, following a 50th anniversary celebration, my husband had his third shoulder surgery. Yes, I said third, on the same shoulder—in a year. I guess the older you get the more your body refuses to heal correctly. The surgery didn’t hold the first time. His body reacted badly to surgery the second time and they had to quit before they could finish, and the third time was the charm, we hope. 
June 24, 1972, I married the love of my life at the ripe age of 19. We were broke, living in his parent’s rent house, with a baby on the way and no idea what to do with it. But we persevered. 
Then after our freshman year of college we married. The baby came much too quickly, and we were both terrified. But she soon taught us all we needed to know about how to parent her. Four and half years later we did it again—this one a boy.
It’s Father’s Day and since I wrote about my husband’s days as a father last year, this year I’ll talk about my dad.
He hired on at Vance AFB in 1960 to teach maintenance. He spent some time in Houston with NASA as Director of Aircraft Maintenance. Then later returned to Vance and retired in 1989 after becoming the Director of Aircraft Maintenance for them. 
(I’m the middle kid in front of him). 
Toward the end of his life, in the hospital for heart surgery while my mother suffered with lung cancer and chemo, his dementia increased. His doctor smilingly told me Dad thought he had once worked for NASA. I informed the doctor that the frail old man in the chair who couldn’t remember what he ate for breakfast that day did work for NASA and that was the one thing he still remembered. It was the highlight of his life—next to his family.
It’s been an uneventful week. I like those now and then. Next Sunday is Father’s Day and the following is a milestone anniversary for my husband and me. Fifty years—and they said it wouldn’t last!
Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site 