I’ve been looking at lists of great first lines — in novels, poems, plays, essays. Most lists online include classics. I like the lists with a theme, such as Funniest First Lines. When I’m browsing books and looking inside, the first thing I notice is whether the first line is a hook or teaser style. Most lists of great first lines tend to emphasize that approach, summing up of the story ahead with a cliffhanger. But there are different equally effective approaches. I identified at least four styles. Try these if you’re searching for a great first line for your work-in-progress. I’ve rewritten mine at least 20 times — so far!
Philosophical First Lines
Here is a small fact: You are going to die. (The Book Thief by Markus Zusak)
— This could be philosophy or scene setting, as the story takes place in WWII.
Happy families are all alike; unhappy families are all unhappy in their own way. (Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy)
— I’ve puzzled over whether this is actually true, as well as whether it’s a good lead into the tragic story of a woman killed by her society for simply wanting to live and love.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
— A sneaky one, pretending to be philosophical, while we soon discover it’s just the voicey philosophy of the wildly irritating and fascinating-as-a-train-wreck Mrs. Bennet.
Entering the Scene First Lines
I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. (I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith)
— One of my favorite quirky novels tells you that the narrator is an odd duck. Who sits in a sink? The castle is odd, the story is too, and this line sets it up very well.
It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen. (1984 by George Orwell)
— You know when there’s an hour after midnight that you’re in an alternate universe. Scene set very well.
Saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts. (“Death By A Thousand Cuts” by Taylor Swift)
— Even if you’re not a Swiftie, you can learn a lot from a well-crafted song lyric, and Taylor’s songs have some of the best writing in fiction. That they’re set to music just makes them awesome. This one opens the scene of a terrible heartbreak in the most personal, excruciating way.
Character Voice (“Voicey”) First Lines
I was standing on our back porch hanging wet dish towels on a swing-arm gizmo, having just finished cleaning up after breakfast. Momma was headed back to bed, where she lived 90 percent of the time, ever since Leslie got married and moved to Ohio with weird Charlie. (Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank)
— Another opener that’s hard to characterize by type, but since the voice was what first grabbed me and introduced me to this marvelously “voicey” author, I’m putting it here. And adding the second line because you just can’t do without it. The author succeeds in establishing an entire character, setting, and situational arc in these two sentences. Let that be your template, especially for a story set in the South.
A good pilot doesn’t show sweat. (Tropic Angel by Nathan Van Coops)
— Thrillers and romantic comedies share an affinity for the voicey first line. This thriller starts in that spirit and caught me with six words that imply a tough guy meeting a tough situation. But I was intrigued into the story mostly by the colorful character whose voice emerged brightly on the first page.
In our family, there was no clear division between religion and fly fishing. (A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean) — I couldn’t decide whether this belonged in a category of funniest first lines or philosophical ones. It’s also voicey, you pick up a whiff of the character’s attitude.
Intrigue First Lines
They shoot the white girl first. (Paradise by Toni Morrison)
— Me now turning the pages as fast as I can.
My morning swim doesn’t usually involve corpses. (The Deep End by Julie Mulhearn)
— You know this savagely witty mystery series is set in the 1950s the minute you read the first page. Mulhearn’s Country Club Murders series is as site specific as a novel setting can get, and is set by the voicey character on every page. Hard to categorize this opening, as it ticks almost all the boxes of possibility.
A lot goes through your mind when you’re dying. (The Color of Heaven by Julianne MacLean) — Hard not to read on. What kind of story starts with the protagonist dying? A story with a metaphysical dimension, that kind.
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These are to get you going (as they did me) if you struggle with your first lines. Don’t be afraid to rewrite them 20, 45, 90 times. A good first line sets the trajectory and mementum, allowing your story to fly.
You can check out first lines in my five novels here.
