The first lines of a novel or short story must grab the reader's attention, enticing them to continue past the first page and continue reading. The first sentence provides you with an opportunity to showcase your writing style, introduce your main character, or establish the inciting incident of your narrative.
The first line of a story should create a sense of character, conflict, setting, mood, theme, or style — or any combination thereof. Most importantly, it should make the reader ask questions.
At the beginning of a written work stands the opening sentence or opening line. The opening line is part or all of the opening sentence that may start the lead paragraph. For older texts the Latin term "incipit" (it begins) is in use for the very first words of the opening sentence.
Start with the chase. A good hook might also be a question or a claim—anything that will elicit an emotional response from a reader. Think about it this way: a good opening sentence is the thing you don't think you can say, but you still want to say. Like, “This book will change your life.”
Again, look at this list of common subordinating words. Used at the beginning of a sentence, these words signal to you that a sentence opener follows: After, Although, As, Because, Before, If, Since, Unless, Until, When, While.
Overcoming the Monster – A story where the hero recounts their conflict and triumph. Rags to Riches – A story where the underdog overcomes obstacles to rise in social status or quality of life. The Quest – A story in which the hero goes on a journey to obtain or save a treasured object.
1. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (1813) It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
Most short stories seem to be between 1,500 words and 7,500 words long so about 3- 30 pages long (a typical printed page is somewhere between 250 and 450 words) depending on font and print formatting. Also, pages of dialogue may have fewer words, which affects length too.
The three main things that make a good story are the hook, characters, and the voice. Hook – start your story in a way that will hook your readers and keep them interested. Characters – make sure they are interesting and that (although most probably flawed) your readers will root for them until the end.
First line of Harry Potter: “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” Sign up to The Kids Are All Right to receive news and recommendations from the world of kid lit and middle grade books.
Examples: "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe is in the horror genre; "Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov is science fiction; "What is Remembered" by Alice Munro is romance and literary fiction.
In the book, Hermione's last line is a rebuke to Ron, who's encouraging their kids to beat Draco's kids at school. She tells her husband, "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"
"... have mercy..." Lily Potter's death practically set in motion the wheels for the entire series. She died at her home in Godric's Hollow trying to protect infant Harry, whom Voldemort was hell-bent on murdering. Lily's last words were an ardent request to the Dark Lord to let her little boy live.
