Great opening lines

Anthony Ehlers recently did a blog post on opening lines. It's an excellent post, so if you haven't yet read it, you should.

Taking Anthony's post a step further, I'm going to give examples today of great opening lines. Notice how each opening line conveys not only a sense of the author's writing style, but also what the book is about.

The first example is from one of my favourite authors, Georgette Heyer:

“A fox got in amongst the hens last night, and ravished our best layer,” remarked Miss Lanyon. 

- Georgette Heyer, Venetia (1958)

This sentence introduces the main character, the style of the dialogue gives an indication that this is a period piece, and best of all, hidden in these seemingly innocent words, lies the entire story: this book is about a rake's seduction of an innocent young woman.

If Uncle Lazarro hadn't left the mob, I probably wouldn't have a story to tell. 

 - Janice Thompson, Fools Rush In (2009) 

In one sentence you get that this book is going to be fun, probably a little tongue-in-cheek, and that it'll have something to do with both the mob and family. If this opening line piqued your interest, Fools Rush In is free on Amazon Kindle today.

There was a lot to be said for fictional fiancés, decided Charlotte Greenstone as she settled into the saggy vinyl hospital chair for yet another night-time vigil by her dying godmother’s side.

- Kelly Hunter, With This Fling (2011)

In just one sentence, we meet the heroine, set the scene, and receive a vital clue to what this book is about: this is a romance in which a fictional fiance becomes very real.

It is freezing, an extraordinary -18⁰C, and it’s snowing, and in the language which is no longer mine, the snow is qanik - big, almost weightless crystals falling in stacks and covering the ground with a layer of pulverised white frost. - Peter Hoeg, Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow (1995) 

In an instant you not only know that snow and ice are going to feature heavily in this story, but that the storyteller is struggling with identity and her place in the world.
And isn't that language just beautiful? I've re-read this book twice and this opening makes me want to dig it out again.

And finally:

This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.” 

- The Princess Bride, William Goldman (1973)

Intriguing. How does a book become a favourite without the narrator having read it?
The reader is guaranteed to keep going to find the answer. This opening line also carries clues that this book is going to be all about stories and story-telling.

Re-read the opening lines of some of your favourite novels and try to spot the clues the author has given the reader of what is to come. Does that opening line convey what the author's voice sounds like in the rest of the novel? Can you guess the book's genre just from that opening line?

Now go back and read your own. Can you rewrite your opening sentence so that it works really hard to not only give as much detail as possible, but also to convey a sense of your style, and also to intrigue the reader to keep on reading?

Do you have a favourite line you'd like to share with us?

There are just twelve days left to the closing date of the ROSA Opening Scene contest. Click on the contest icon in the left sidebar for more information.

Opening scene checklist: what to do, and what not to do

The opening scene of any book is the most important.

Though you need to write a story that grips the reader to the very end, providing sufficient conflict and pace to keep the reader turning the pages, and an ending satisfying enough to make the reader want to read your next book, if you haven’t hooked that reader in the first few pages, all the rest will be wasted effort.

Your opening needs to accomplish several things:
• Introduce the main characters - this is perhaps the most important aspect of all, as readers need to care, and the only way they will care is if they identify with your central characters.
• What’s at stake? Hint at the central conflict and theme of the novel. Every scene, every page, must have conflict (Note: arguments are not conflict. Conflict is wanting something and not being able to get it). This opening scene needs to give the reader an idea of what the novel’s overall conflict will be.
• Set the tone of the story - is this a light and fluffy comedy, dark humour, intense and emotional? Let your natural voice shine through.
• Set the scene - where in the world is your story located? Give your reader enough description to picture the background, but don’t dwell on it. This is the moment to capture the reader with action and dialogue, not with lavish descriptions.
• Start the scene at a point of change. This is not the moment to have your hero or heroine in introspective mode, re-living the past, or waking up, getting dressed, brushing her teeth, making a cup of tea ... start with the moment she sits down in the chair across from her boss and gets told she’s fired.

What not to do:
• Do not bore the reader to tears with your character’s entire back story. That is for you to know and the reader to find out. Slowly, and in bite-size chunks.
• Do not start at such a high point that you cannot top it again for the rest of the novel. You’ll only leave your reader dissatisfied.
• Similarly, don't start in a dramatic style purely to capture the reader's interest, unless you intend to carry that style throughout the novel.
• Avoid stereo-typical beginnings: the alarm clock waking your main character, the car accident between hero and heroine. Aim for a unique and memorable opening.
• Do not forget to polish your scene to within an inch of its life, without losing your voice and uniqueness. Spelling, punctuation, and clear POV are important if you want to be taken seriously.

Our opening scene contest closes on 1st May 2012. For more information, click on the contest logo in the left sidebar.

ROSA 2012 Contest: 28 Days

The ROSA 2012 contest closes to submissions in just 28 days.

You can find out more about the contest and submission requirements here at http://www.romancewriters.co.za/competitions.html and on our blog you can read more about the judges and the prizes.

Good luck to all entrants!

Update to our Contest page

Please note that the Contest page on our website has been updated to include formatting requirements for all entries. Please check them out, and make sure you are familiar with the Ts and Cs, as entries that do not follow the guidelines will unfortunately be disqualified.

Announcement!!!

ROSA is excited to announce the launch of its first ever competition. This contest is open to all authors who either reside in South Africa or who are South African citizens living abroad.

The contest is for opening scenes between 1,500 and 2,500 words in length, for a completed manuscript in any genre of romance. There are two categories: one for previously unpublished entrants, and one for authors who've already had a work of 15,000 words or more published by a traditional publisher.

Contest prizes include professional critiques, wines, chocolates, an online course with social media guru Kristen Lamb, and the chance to get your work in front of some of the top people in the business.

For more information, including judges and prizes, formatting requirements, Terms & Conditions, and how the contest will be organised, please visit our website at www.romancewriters.co.za/competitions.

Entries should be sent to contest@romancewriters.co.za, but since you only get one entry with which to impress the judges, take your time and get your opening scene as polished as possible before you enter. The closing date is midnight on Tuesday, 1st May 2012.

For more information, visit our website, or keep watching this blog. We'll be posting information on our judges, updates on prizes, writing tips and a whole lot more right here.

If you have any questions about the contest, leave a comment below and we'll address it as soon as we can.

Best wishes for a fantastic Valentine's Day!