What a Line
In today's marketplace, great significance is placed on the first line of a novel. So I thought I'd bring together first lines from some bestselling authors to see what you think. Did these authors hit a home run with their first lines, or do they need to go back to batting practice?
In no particular order other than the way I pulled them from the shelf - and I tried to pull alternate male/female authors:
When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him.
THE ROAD. Cormac McCarthy
The morning Tony Lucia killed Angelo Coluzzi, he was late to feed his pigeons.
THE VENDETTA DEFENSE. Lisa Scottoline
My name is Odd Thomas, though in this age when fame is the altar at which most people worship, I am not sure why you should care who I am or that I exist.
ODD THOMAS. Dean Koontz
He was coming home.
CHESAPEAKE BLUE. Nora Roberts
I knew this was a really terrific idea, if I didn't say so myself, surprising Paul for lunch at his office down on Pearl Street.
THE QUICKIE. James Patterson
Sometimes you get up in the morning and you know it's going to be one of those days.
PLUM SPOOKY. Janet Evanovich
The first week after Labor Day, after a summer of hot wind and drought that left the cane fields dust blown and spiderwebbed with cracks, rain showers once more danced across the wetlands, the temperature dropped twenty degrees, and the sky turned the hard flawless blue of an inverted ceramic bowl.
LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS. James Lee Burke
This was the vacation from hell.
BURN. Linda Howard
Despite the mist, she spent an hour working Chica, and working herself, and she smelled of it, mare-sweat and woman-sweat, with a tingle of Chanel No. 5.
DEAD WATCH. John Sandford
Even though she'd rehearsed the line over and over, it didn't sound at all the way she wanted it to.
OTHER PEOPLE'S SECRETS. Louise Candlish
Do these first lines do it for you? Do they suck you in, tantalize your imagination? Do they pull you forward, entice you to read on?
Or is there one or more that misses the intended mark and leaves you cold?
If you've read any of these books, did the first line fulfill its promise? Or were you pleasantly surprised when you read on? Or worse, did the first-line promise die on the vine?
How much do first lines matter to you - as a writer and as a reader?
Comments
I never read back burbs, or book reviews either. Everything I need to know, is on that first page.
Happy Reading.
On the other hand, I have never in my life in any capacity (reader, purchaser, editor, crit partner, whatever) looked at a first line and made a judgment about a book based on that.
So... *shrug*
Now I have a couple more books to put on my wish list. Thanks :)
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
C.N. - Good for you. I have. It is what it is some days for me.
Mason - Cool! I've added a lot to mine from reading your blog :)
Glynis - I love how everyone is different. Could be because I'm different from most - LOL.
Stephen - They have to hook me right away, too. I always spend a lot of time on the opening. Odd Thomas taught me a lot.
I thought these were all okay; I don't like wordy ones, either. Odd Thomas is one of my fave books, too.
I'm not thrown off or sucked in by the first lines, but I will put it down if, after a few chapters, I'm not feeling it.
Loved this!
Words Crafter - Feel free to use this to host a blogfest.
Joanne - I noticed that, too. It's different for established authors. Sigh.
Holly - I always read the first page, too. Or as far on it as I can.
The first line is something i'm really working on. Think I've nailed it better with my second book than I did with my first.
There a few I'm not so fond of, but several that really pull it in. I agree iwth Alex - I like the pigeon one too.
I like most of your examples. Not too impressed with the ones by James Lee Burke (too long and arty), John Sanford (still too long and arty), and Louise Candlish (not intriguing enough for me).
Lee
Tossing It Out
Talli - There's three of us!
Jane - Four :)
Arlee - A little something for everyone. He's painted a picture of the first touch of autumn in South Louisiana.
Personally, I never buy a book by the first line.
CD
Terry
Terry's Place
Romance with a Twist--of Mystery
The first line is important, but I usually judge if I'm going to buy a book by reading the first page.
As an author, I do know the importance of a terrific first line. :)
Elspeth - I'm a more critical reader and definitely harder to please now than ever before. But once I get caught up in the story/characters, I don't pay attention to anything else.
Terry - I think Koontz used a little reverse psychology to pull in readers who didn't want to be caught up in fame.
Kathi - You probably slave over that first line like I do :)
I usually try to come up with something snappy, that will give readers the overall tone of what kind of story you should expect from me. :) They're not "awesome" but I think they get the job done. LOL
I do pay attnetion to first lines when I'm reading just because I think it's neat to see how different authros decide to start, but it's not a deal breaker for me to stop reading if I don't like it.
Jennifer - If I boil down what you've said, I think you're saying that the author's voice is there from the get-go. I agree with that. I keep aiming for perfection with the first line, but I haven't attained it yet.
Joanna - I used to be just like you. Now I'm pickier. What can I say - LOL.
A good first line is clear, flows, maybe has something intriguing or unusual. A clunky first line can indeed put me off reading a novel.It makes me worry that the reading experience will be tiresome.
First line of my book I just turned in? "Incoming!"
Now reading:
LR - I'm the same about first lines that appear clunky to me.
Hart - I totally understand about 'ease' from the TBR shelf. LOVE your first line!
I'm going to grab a book I'm reading and write the first line back at ya -
"It was as black in the closet as old blood."
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley
Of course, I've already ready BURN so I know it'd good!
BURN - Jenner Redwine sat frozen on the barstool, trying to remember what Bridget had told her and reconcile it with the nightmare that was actually happening.
THE VENDETTA DEFENSE - As long as Tony had kept pigeons, which was for almost all of his seventy-nine years, he had never been late to feed them, and they began complaining the moment he opened the screen door.
What do those sentences say about the first ones?