In today's world of information overload and the high level of competition in absolutely any field, your work has to stand out. If you are a new and as yet unpublished author or even a self-published author, you have to overcome enormous scepticism regarding your ability to write. I hear a number of published authors saying that this persists even after you've been published!
So, how
do you do this? How do you differentiate yourself from thousands of manuscripts
that may be a writer just testing the water, or someone from the 'I have at
least one book in me' legion?
Some of the
ways to do this are:
- Start in the middle of the action. Readers will be gripped from the get go because it's all happening at once within those first few lines. Context, character and location can follow because now you have them hooked.
- Tell us something weird or strange about the character. Intrigue us into wanting to know more about him/her and why they are the way they are.
- Shock us. This always works well.
- Show us your unique voice.
Here are some
famous first liners...
1. "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 (1813)
2. "Call me
Ishmael". - Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851)
3." 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". - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
4. "Ships at
a distance have every man's wish on board". - Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
5. "You
better not never tell nobody but God". - Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1982)
6. "Mr and
Mrs Dursely, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say they were very
normal, thank you very much". - J.K.
Rowling, Harry Potter and the
Philosophers Stone (1997).
7. "Violent
death fascinates people." - Ruth Rendall, The Bridesmaid (2004)
There are
authors who make this work over the course of a page or two, but make no
mistake if your readers aren’t gripped for whatever reason, they won't stay
with your book.
Have you come
across any first lines in books you've read that really stand out to you?
I'd love to
know.
Gabi
Hmmm, a mutual friend's Facebook link sent me here. I am an avid reader, and love to discover new authors...
ReplyDeleteI'm tempted to get your book, but am a little perplexed by you repeating the last few sentences of this post. Is it for dramatic effect, or a typo? Proof reading seems to be the downfall of many self-publishers
You are absolutely right! And yes, I slipped up....I made the mistake of posting this when I was tired and missed the duplication. I have fixed it now, in case anyone wonders what we are talking about here.
ReplyDeleteOn Deadly Obsession, I had two people (fresh eyes) besides myself proofread the copy, so I hope we picked up as many of the little gremlins as we could.
If you decide to read it and find any, please, please let me know!
Thanks for your comment,
G