Tuesday, August 2, 2011

First Lines

Recently, I've been reading a blog, kidlit.com, that encouraged an exercise regarding first lines. Essentially, the first line of the book is what determines whether the agent, the publishing house, or even the reader will continue to read our book. Pouring over pages 139-215 make little difference if the first line or the first few lines don't interest the reader to keep going.
On top of that, according to the author of kidlit.com, some first lines are so general or philisophical that they could go anywhere. Not necessarily uninteresting, just uninformative. I believe mine is too general, but need someone to throw ideas off of. If you want to look at the post to which I'm referring, here is the link: http://kidlit.com/2011/07/25/first-lines-part-1/
I propose we do the same exercise here. Post the first line of your book, tell us what genre and whether it's an adult, YA, MG, etc, and the rest of us will give constructive feedback so that the curiousity factor will be piqued for all who read our first lines.
Mine is a YA sci-fi: She covered her mouth to quiet her ragged breathing.
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5 comments:

  1. KatalynAugust 3, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    My first thought is, 'Okay, so I can already tell she's in major trouble if she's trying to remain quiet.' I would be interested in reading more so that I could find out why she's in trouble, and who she's hiding from.

    I personally give books a little more of a chance than the first sentence. I generally give it the first paragraph, and by then I can usually tell if this is something thats going to interest me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KitKatAugust 11, 2011 at 9:30 AM

    I'd say that I would agree with Kristie's comment. Your first line leads me to believe she's in serious trouble. Hopefully the next few lines will help me figure out why.

    Thanks!
    KitKat

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  3. KitKatAugust 11, 2011 at 9:31 AM

    Sorry, I should say 'he' or 'she.'

    Thanks!!
    KitKat

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  4. RocxyAugust 14, 2011 at 7:39 PM

    Thanks for all your comments. I was hoping you would all post your first lines also and we could have a sort of workshop atmosphere. However, I don't want to pressure you. I just want you to know I am here if you want a bit of feedback.

    ReplyDelete
  5. KatalynAugust 15, 2011 at 10:00 AM

    In my first book, my first line is:
    “I asked you a question, Human.”

    My 2nd book (same series) is:
    Night was so beautiful when it was lit up with fire; so much better than the boring light of day.

    ReplyDelete

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