So I'm working on a new project, one that I am beyond excited about and that I pray I can do justice.
I know some writers begin their work in the middle, then add the beginning and the end.
Others start backward, writing the end and working toward the beginning.
For me, I like to start on page 1. Which is probably why I have such a hard time actually getting started.
A first sentence is so important.
Take a look at some fantastic ones:
- · "Pride and Prejudice”: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
- · “The Fault in Our Stars”: Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.
- · “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”: Dear Friend, I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand and didn't try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have.
(For even more examples of great first lines, check out this list.)
Here's what I've got so far, although this might change. Keep in mind, this is a work in progress for middle-grade readers, ages 9-14.
"Even I could see that Tooter was no Seeing Eye Dog."
What are some of your favorite first lines?