An Analysis of Great First Lines

 

  I've given a lot of thought to first lines lately. Since I've been editing my first chapter for a contest, that elusive first line has been one of my greatest focuses. I'm not great at first lines off the top of my head-- they usually take editing, pruning, deleting, and rewriting, as is the case with any part of the book. But first lines are especially important, since it's that first line that makes you want to read the next one. And the next one. And before you know it, it's one A.M. and you've read a four-hundred page novel.
     One thing I did while working on my first line was going into the library, opening books at random, and reading the first lines, trying to notice the trends in the really good ones.
     At the time I pulled Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brian out of the shelf, I already had nine books checked out. I was determined not to get another one. Because of the brilliant first line, I failed in that.
    In the dim hovel, the mother clenched her body into one final, straining push, and the baby slithered out into Gaia's ready hands.
    The line is surprising--you don't usually see a book begin with a mother giving birth. Especially a young adult dystopian. But the author pulls it off wonderfully. You get the impression that Gaia is the main character, and has some experience. You wonder where she got it. And you read the next sentence.
     Newborn #45GA18M died on June 30, 2076, at 6:07 in the morning. 
     This first line is from Dan Wells' Partials. You immediately get an idea of the world and the time period. You wonder why the baby died, and why it wasn't given a name.
     Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.
     This line is the beginning to one of my all-time favorite series, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books. It, too, raises questions--what does half-blood mean? Why does Percy not like it? You also get an idea of the narrator. Percy maintains his attitude of why-me throughout the series.
     Addie and I were born into the same body, our souls' ghostly fingers entwined before we gasped our very first breath.
      This is the first line of Kat Zhang's What's Left of Me, another one of my favorites. It makes the reader wonder how two people can share a body, if this is normal. It also hints at the style of the writing.
      So, there are two main elements in great first lines--questions, and promises. Questions that you want answered, and promises that they will be answered. Promises about the way they'll be answered. First lines often hint at the genre. They tell you who will be narrating. They keep the answers just out of reach, so that you will read the next one. It's a delicate balance between secrets and information. First lines can be hard. But when someone picks up your book and flips to the first page, it will all be worth it.
      What are your favorite first lines? What are the first lines in your novels?
   

Let's Stop with the Stereotypes

 

    Okay, so I feel a strong need to write this.
    I absolutely love Myers-Briggs types. They fascinate me. I love reading articles, typing my friends and family and complete strangers. I love using it to help me understand people. Even the stereotypes can be fun.
     But they can also be hurtful.
     Yesterday, I was bored. I decided to play with Google's suggested searches. I typed in each Myers-Briggs type, followed by the word are, and watched what it suggested.
    I was shocked by the differences between types. Some types were exclusively positive. Some were mixed. And some were completely negative.
    ESFJs, for example. The suggested words included annoying and stupid. Now, both my mom and my sister are ESFJs (though my sister is pretty ambiverted). Of course, sometimes they annoy me. That's inevitable, considering I live with them. But they are also amazing. Both are hardworking, conscientious, and loving. Both will always listen and provide a shoulder to cry on. They are so much more than stupid and annoying.
     And just because they're the same type doesn't mean they're the same person. My sister loves reading, and spends a lot of her time doing it. Her favorite genre is fantasy. She's a proud Ravenclaw. She loves singing and dancing. She wants to open a daycare when she grows up.
    My mom, on the other hand, does read, but prefers historical fiction. She's studying to get a degree in English. She likes romantic comedies. She doesn't really care about Harry Potter, but we're 99% sure she's a Hufflepuff.
    Yes, they're similar. But they don't have a hive mind.
     While I fit very well into the category of INFJ, I don't agree 100% with everything I read. I can't effortlessly tell someone's life story, or even if they're upset. Sometimes I think something's wrong when they're totally fine. Sometimes I'm completely oblivious. I spend a lot of time in my head, but I don't think exclusively about philosophy and world peace. I think about homework. I think about boys. I think about that last episode of Doctor Who that I watched.
     One of my least favorite things about Myers-Briggs is the assumptions that come with each group and type.
    Just because I'm not an NT doesn't mean I'm not smart. Just because I'm not an SJ doesn't mean I can't follow rules. Just because I'm not an SP doesn't mean I can't be crazy and spontaneous. If you're not an NF, it doesn't mean you can never be deep.
     Introverts can enjoy having company. Extroverts can enjoy being alone. Sensors can be deep. Intuits can be practical. Thinkers can be kind. Feelers can be smart. Judgers can be spontaneous. Percievers can be organized.
     Your type can help you discover yourself. But it does not define you. You define you. You are so much more than your type. Each type has good points and bad points, and each type has diversity within the type. Don't let stereotypes hold you back. Because before you are a type, you are a person.

Lessons I Learned from Dragonchild

Last October, I started a novel called Dragonchild. My last novel had been terrible. Absolutely plot-less. And, of course, the plot bunnies abandoned me right when I needed them. A few months later, though, I'm partway through a second draft. Dragonchild taught me quite a few lessons. Here are the biggest ones--

1-Sometimes clinging to the first idea you get is a bad way to go. But sometimes it's a gateway to something amazing.
     Dragonchild came after finally letting go of the shreds of my first novel. I had no idea what to do next. I spent hours searching my mind for ideas and Pinterest for writing prompts. I finally found an image that sparked my imagination. It was barely a shred, but I clung to it. And now I have a novel.
    Great things can come out of tiny things. Mediocre things. Sometimes the smallest seeds grow into the most beautiful flowers.Your idea may be hardly anything, but work with it.

2- Let it evolve.
    Speaking of working with the idea, let your story deviate from the original idea. Dragonchild was originally a dystopian romance. By the time I typed The End, it was a fantasy about the daughter of a dragon and a human. Your idea will change when you flesh it out. Let it. Work with it. It won't be perfect; no first draft is ever perfect. But it will be so much better.

3- Don't stifle your characters.
    Case in point--Evanna, my main character. I'd originally typed her as an ISFJ. I tried to make her stick with it. She didn't like being forced in a box, resulting in writer's block. I was luckily able to figure out that she wanted to be an INFJ. Once I let her do her own thing, writing went so much better.
     It can be hard to hand the reins to your characters. You have your own ideas of who you want them to be. But they have theirs, too. Once you let them tell their own stories, they--and you--will be much happier.

4-Challenge yourself.
     I was going to do NaNoWriMo for Dragonchild, but that 50,000 word count goal just seemed so daunting. The longest thing I'd ever written before was only 30,000. Hesitantly, I signed up anyway, but decided to only go for 35,000 words, in addition to the 8,000 or so I had already. About five days in, I realized that was too easy. 600 words a day wasn't challenging me at all. I decided to take the plunge and go for all 50,000. I completed it three days early, and the extra words provided some of the coolest things in the story. You'll never get anywhere as a writer if you don't challenge yourself. So much of writing is growth, and you'll never achieve that if you always set the bar low.

5- You can do it.
     No matter how much you have to delete, how often you get blocked, how slow the going seems, you've got this. You've done something few people are ever brave enough to do--to write a novel. You can do this. If you push through, then you will succeed. I believe in you.