The Power of a First Line

I have long wanted to write a book made up only of first lines for other books.  To me writing the first line is the best part of writing.  Often even if I have a story written in my head I can not put words to paper until I have come up with that first line.

Your first line is your best opportunity to draw in a reader.  It is your chance to hook them.  One sentence.  Just a few words...and it can make the difference between someone pouring through your book and not making it past the first few pages.  So what makes a good first line? Here are a few approaches...

Set the scene

"It was a dark and stormy night."  While now cliché this first line tells us something...and not just that it is night time.  From this line we get a sense of unease, of foreboding.  That something is not right in this world.

Introduce a character

"The day I was born had one thing in common with ever other bad day I had, it rained." The line, from The Day the Rain Came seeks to introduce you to the main character.  From this line you can infer a lot about her...she has a dark sense of humor, she hates the rain, she probably hates herself. 

Give it all away

Sometimes a first line tells us exactly where we are going before we get there.  "I only ever killed Jacob Barnaby because of the cat."  Using this type of first line starts us in the middle, or sometimes even the end of a story.  Sometimes this tells the reader that we are going to be jumping around in time.  Or that knowing this piece of information will be crucial to understanding the larger story. 

And there are many more approaches to writing great first lines...but whatever approach you take remember that your first line is the readers first chance to interact with your characters.  So make it count!