First lines are great and can be iconic- and Dave noted two of the best. I would add: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. Not as catchy as the others but it certainly piques your interest.
I like the First Lines idea. It is really just a way to start a conversation. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. You gotta start somewhere.
Exactly. Jude isn’t going to evaluate or judge the first lines but instead she is giving the author a starting point to share some insights into their process with folks.
These seem like the two extremes in opening sentences, Call me Ishmael and It was the best of times, it was the worst of times……. You know the rest. I am glad I didn’t have to write about either, though I enjoyed both books.
Happy to see your newsletter readership is international and close to 500.
Very much dislike the sub stack need to send me a code prior to my commenting. This must be some sort of trend as Tangle requires that as well. The "first lines" thing didn't resonate with me. However, all press is good press so happy you got to shine in that space. Congratulations on your number of readers. The International part is very cool.
As an avid reader of a wide variety of books I have never found the first line or even first few pages that were critical to my enjoyment of those books. While there are some famous first lines ,they are very few and far between. In my view the very concept of "first lines" is lame.
First lines are great and can be iconic- and Dave noted two of the best. I would add: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. Not as catchy as the others but it certainly piques your interest.
I like the First Lines idea. It is really just a way to start a conversation. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. You gotta start somewhere.
Exactly. Jude isn’t going to evaluate or judge the first lines but instead she is giving the author a starting point to share some insights into their process with folks.
These seem like the two extremes in opening sentences, Call me Ishmael and It was the best of times, it was the worst of times……. You know the rest. I am glad I didn’t have to write about either, though I enjoyed both books.
Happy to see your newsletter readership is international and close to 500.
I was excited to see that too!
Great explanation. I’d never considered how important the first line is!
Very much dislike the sub stack need to send me a code prior to my commenting. This must be some sort of trend as Tangle requires that as well. The "first lines" thing didn't resonate with me. However, all press is good press so happy you got to shine in that space. Congratulations on your number of readers. The International part is very cool.
Curious what about "first lines" turned you off, if you don't mind sharing
As an avid reader of a wide variety of books I have never found the first line or even first few pages that were critical to my enjoyment of those books. While there are some famous first lines ,they are very few and far between. In my view the very concept of "first lines" is lame.
Four hundred forty-seven! Congratulations! (I was feeling like the next Heather Cox Richardson for hitting a hundred.)
Oh boy, I'm horrified to admit, but I had to google Heather Cox Richardson and then sign up for her famous newsletter.