Let’s Get Writing!
As writers, we all know that the opening line is important. In short stories, it’s the hook. In most novels, it’s both the hook and something that will get explained if we were just to read on. In The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead used: “Even in death the boys were trouble.” In The Intuitionist, it was: “It’s a new elevator, freshly pressed to the rails, and it’s not built to fall this fast.”
Adept mystery writers use a variety of lures:
Ray Bradbury in Something Wicked This Way Comes: “The Seller of lightning rods arrived just ahead of the storm.”
Raymond Chandler in The Long Goodbye: “The first time I laid eyes on Terry Lennox he was drunk in a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith outside the terrace of The Dancers.”
Dashiell Hammett in The Dain Curse: “It was a diamond all right, shining in the grass half a dozen feet from the blue brick wall.”
Benjamin Black in The Black-Eyed Blonde: “It was one of those Tuesday afternoons in summer when you wonder if the earth has stopped revolving.”
Your challenge: Select one of the opening lines below and develop it in your preferred genre. You have 250 words to hook us and make us want to know more. Be ready to read your work at the August 14 meeting 10-11 A.M.Stephen King told us to “Write one word at a time.” In our August meeting, we’ll start with one sentence, an opening line prompt, and see where it leads us.
- (Classic) It was a dark and stormy night.
- (Noir) It was one of those Tuesday afternoons in summer when you wonder if the earth has stopped revolving.
- (Cozy) My first stop on my way to the jail was the bakery on Adams street for one of Miss Maddie’s warm cinnamon buns.
As Natalie Goldberg said, “Play around. Dive into absurdity and write. Take chances. You will succeed if you are fearless of failure.”
We’re a friendly, supportive group—our feedback will be kind, and we’re bound to have fun.
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