A Sampler of First Lines
From “The Saboteur” by Ha Jin.
“Mr. Chiu and his bride were having lunch in the square before the Muji Train Station.”
From “The Stolen Party” by Liliana Heker
“As soon as she arrived she went straight to the kitchen to see if the monkey was there.”
From “Hunters in the Snow” by Tobias Wolff
“Tub had been waiting for an hour in the falling snow.”
From “The Free Radio” by Salman Rushdie
“We all knew nothing good would happen to him while the thief’s widow had her claws dug into his flesh, but the boy was an innocent, a real donkey’s child, you can’t teach such people.”
In your own words, what can a story’s first line--as well as its beginning in general--accomplish?
Ways to Start Stories
A break from routine--move reader away from the ordinary
Present key info--a good idea when your story has a wild concept, such as time travel or magic, in it.
Set the "stakes"--right off the bat hook your reader
or
Consider starting your story In Medias Res--in the middle of things. Instead of giving background and working toward an initial incident. You can engage your reader with something thrilling--an action or with some dialogue
Exercise:1) Come up with a new in medias res start to your group fairy tales
or
2) Write a page starting in medias res using this concept: Once upon a time there was a boy who walked on clouds.