August 14, 2013Opening SalvoBeginnings matter. A writer in search of a way to pull readers in need look no further than a strong opening line. Not all opening lines are created equal. They come in great variety. But they typically arrest attention and set the tone for all that is to come. Here are some of my favorites: The Dramatic Opening "It was a pleasure to burn." Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 "Call me Ishmael." Herman Melville, Moby Dick The Humorous The Thesis Opening "Life is difficult." "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities The Ultimate Cosmic Opening Posted by Andy Le Peau
at August 14, 2013 11:19 AM
Like your choices! THE CATCHER IN THE RYE (1951), J.D. Salinger He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad. Scarmouche (Raphael Sabatini) Last one! Thanks for your blog!!!! I enjoy reading it!!!!! Lou, yours are good choices too. Salinger does such a great job of putting us immediately into the frame of mind and heart of the narrator. You know exactly what you're getting and where it will go. So while Salinger is anything but romantic and sentimental in a Dickensian sort of way, ironically (as no doubt Salinger intended) there are parallels between Copperfield and Caulfield, as even their names suggest! Comment by: Andy Le Peau at August 14, 2013 1:30 PMThe older I get, the more loudly Chesterton’s beginning to The Napoleon of Notting Hill rings true: “The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children’s games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up.” My forever favorite first line is from The Gospel according to John: Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Great ones. I love them both. Comment by: Andy Le Peau at August 14, 2013 5:17 PMThese lines are so evocative. I experience their effectiveness in the emotional tug I feel after reading every one. Each brings a flood of memories from the whole rest of the narrative. Thanks for this post! Comment by: Katelin Hansen at August 16, 2013 5:38 PMComments are closed for this entry. |
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