First Lines interview with author Joe Vasicek

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Joe Vasicek

Do you consider the first line to be an important part of a story?  If so, why?

It can be, but not always. Some stories, especially shorter ones, need to start out with a strong first line to provide that hook and get things off to a running start. With other stories, however, more important elements eclipse the need for a good first line. For example, I remember quite vividly the first line of The Hobbit, but Lord of the Rings? I can’t remember it off the top of my head, and that doesn’t take away from my experience of the book.

Do you find first lines easy to come up with, or challenging? Do you have a technique, or a ritual, that you go by to make it easy?

This is going to sound frustrating, but every book is different, and I don’t really have a consistent method except to do what works. For Bringing Stella Home, I hung on to a pretty bad opening just for the sake of the first line, then tossed it out and decided not to put too much importance on it. For Genesis Earth, the first line was what drove me to finish the story.

In general, though, I think of first lines in terms of the story question, which should be raised in the first page or two of the book. For example, the story question for Ender’s Game is “will Ender Wiggins save the world without destroying himself in the process?” For Pride and Prejudice, the story question is “will the Bennett girls marry the right young men?” The first line is an important part of the hook, and since the hook should raise or touch on the story question in some way, so should the first line.

I do think it’s important not to overthink things, though. Sometimes, you just have to take a step back and not lose sight of the forest for the trees. When you’ve got a good first line, you’ll know.

What consequences, if any, do you think there are in having a badly written first line?

To be honest, I don’t think the consequences of doing it “wrong” are always necessarily bad. For example, my favorite book of all time is The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. The first line of that book isn’t particularly memorable. It fits really well with Ende’s voice, however, and for that almost fairy-tale kind of story, it works quite well. If he’d spent a lot of time trying to rewrite the first line to fit some kind of formula, or to follow a set of rules, it would have clashed so much with the rest of his writing that it would have felt stilted and out of place. But as it is, I think it works fine.

That said, I don’t think that’s a license to be lazy or to say that everything works just fine simply because you wrote it. It’s an art. Pablo Picasso may have charged thousands of dollars for a drawing he scribbled on the back of a napkin, but he had a whole lifetime of work and experience to justify doing something like that. You’ve still got to put in the proverbial million words.

What’s your favourite first line that you’ve ever read? And can you recall a worst?

I’m not a huge romance reader, but my favorite first line would have to be the classic from 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.

I can’t think of any other first line that sets up the story more perfectly, or gets across the main idea in a better way.

As for the worst first line I’ve ever read, I don’t think I can point to any one. No matter how many bad ones I come up with, I’m sure there’s a worse one somewhere that I’ve read and forgotten, or a book I didn’t finish where the first line just didn’t fit. That’s the thing about poorly-written books, though–you tend to forget them.

What is one of your own best first lines?

Earth was a ghost that haunted me.

That’s the first line for Genesis Earth, my first published novel. I know I’m not the best judge of my own writing, but that line was what kept me from giving up and throwing it out. It seemed like such a zinger, I just had to finish the rest of it–and I’m glad I did!

We’re all sharing here! What’s one of your worst first lines?

My own first line is probably from my other first novel, which will never see the light of day. After listening to a lot of writing advice without having enough time or experience for it to resonate, I took some of it a little too literally while completely ignoring the rest:

Pravda Vitezi: Truth Prevails said the ornate blue lettering along the clean white walls of the narrow, zero gravity corridor leading to the bridge of the Avion-45.

What are some things a first line *shouldn’t* be? What are some things that you’ve read in first lines that really rubs you the wrong way?

A first line shouldn’t be pretentious. It shouldn’t feel like it’s trying too hard. It’s like women’s make-up: if you immediately notice that it’s there, something is probably wrong.

Do you have any suggestions for other authors on how to write a great first line? Have you heard any great advice yourself?

I think it’s a little like Bruce Lee’s fighting method, where he described his journey from novice to master. At first, a punch was just a punch. Then, as he studied various martial arts and fighting techniques, it became an incredibly complicated thing which he was constantly trying hard to perfect. Once he became a master, though, a punch was just a punch.

Do you have any final words?

Don’t forget to have fun!

Joe Vasicek is a science fiction writer who has lived in more than twenty different places in the past ten years, most recently Kutaisi, the capital of ancient Colchis. When he writes, though, his mind is anywhere but this world. His most recently published novel is Desert Stars, a tale of homecoming, intrigue, and romance on the fringes of an interstellar empire that has forgotten its holiest legend: the story of Earth. He keeps a regular blog at One Thousand and One Parsecs, and can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. Sometimes. But no matter where he goes, he’s always writing.

First Lines interview with author Martin Pond

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Martin Pond

Do you consider the first line to be an important part of a story? If so, why?
Absolutely, because it’s a hook. Okay, most readers are a little more forgiving and will give a book a chance, at least for the first couple of pages. But a strong opening line is very important. Books are like people – first impressions count for a lot.

Do you find first lines easy to come up with, or challenging? Do you have a technique, or a ritual, that you go by to make it easy?
I don’t have a technique as such – I just try to find the narrative “voice” and then use that to deliver a hook. They usually come easily, because subconsciously I’m in a hurry to get on with the story.

What consequences, if any, do you think there are in having a badly written first line?
A bad first line is an instant turn-off. It lessens the chances of a reader finishing the first chapter, which in turn lessens the chances of finishing the book… and starting the next one.

What’s your favourite first line that you’ve ever read? And can you recall a worst?
Tough question. Not sure I have a favourite, but this is pretty good – from “I Am Legend” by Richard Matheson:

On those cloudy days, Robert Neville was never sure when sunset came, and sometimes they were in the streets before he could get back.

It’s good because it immediately raises questions – who are they, why is it important to get back before they’re in the streets, and get back to where?

And worst? Where to start… Dan Brown, maybe?

Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum’s Grand Gallery.

What is one of your own best first lines?
I’m working on a short story at the moment that begins with simply

This is what happened.

For now, I quite like that – it seems to suit the first-person narrative well. I also like “Is she flirting with me?” from my novel-in-progress.

We’re all sharing here! What’s one of your worst first lines?
“I’m not sure what’s happening.” Not only was it the first line, it was the whole first paragraph. Quiet similar to the line I’ve just quoted as a favourite, I know, but I don’t think it fits with the narrative in this case. That’s a crucial difference.

What are some things a first line *shouldn’t* be? What are some things that you’ve read in first lines that really rubs you the wrong way?
Pointless detail. I don’t need to know that the man was 76 years old or that the woman was 5ft 6, not in the first line. Such detail always feel like primary school writing to me, when a child is just learning to use descriptive words and so throws them in everywhere.

Do you have any suggestions for other authors on how to write a great first line? Have you heard any great advice yourself?
Don’t agonise over it but do try to hook the reader, even if only subtly. Try to raise a question – give the reader an incentive to persevere.

Do you have any final words?
Yes – buy my books please! Thank you.

Born in East Kent in 1970, Martin Pond was educated at the University of East Anglia. A career in IT followed, and continues to pay the bills. In 2007 Martin made a hesitant return to fiction, not having written seriously since his student days. He returned to UEA too, and took a diploma in Creative Writing.
Martin’s stories have appeared in Unthology No 1, Streetcake magazine and Alliterati magazine, whilst three poems have appeared in The Artillery Of Words magazine.
Martin is currently working on a novel-length work, Drawn To The Deep End, and, as an experiment, is publishing the first draft, unedited, in weekly online instalments.
Martin’s first collection of short fiction, Dark Steps, was published in August 2011. A standalone short, Turn Around Where Possible, followed in January 2012.
http://martinpond.blogspot.com

First lines interview with author Ethan Jones

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Ethan Jones

1. Do you consider the first line to be an important part of a story? If so, why?

The first line is very important to the reader. It should hook them to your story, perk up their interest, and make them feel like they have to read more of this work. The first line can be used as a compass to show the reader where you might be taking them: in a journey through an intriguing story that will captivate their imaginations and reward them with great entertainment.

2. Do you find first lines easy to come up with, or challenging? Do you have a technique, or a ritual, that you go by to make it easy?

First lines are challenging. I end up changing them many times, before deciding on the final one. Many times I think and rethink the first line in my mind; I say it aloud and write it down, then read it again and change it often, until I am completely satisfied.

3. What consequences, if any, do you think there are in having a badly written first line?

It may cost the author a reader, because if gives the wrong impression. If the author cannot write a great first line, the reader may think that the rest of the book will not be interesting. If the first line left the reader lukewarm, they may decide not to buy the book and not recommend it to a friend. They may choose to wait for a sale or borrow the book from a library.

4. What’s your favourite first line that you’ve ever read? And can you recall a worst?

I can’t really remember a great opening line and quote it word for word as the author wrote it. I would not do the author a favor if I paraphrased it. I have already wiped out of my memory the first worst lines.

5. What is one of your own best first lines?

My debut spy novel, Arctic Wargame, opens with these first lines:

The sand dunes sank into darkness as a curtain of clouds dimmed the glow of the crescent moon. Justin limped closer to the small barred window of his prison cell. His bruised chest pressed against the rough surface of the bloodstained wall.

My short story, Carved in Memory, which is a prequel to Arctic Wargame, begins with:

I opened my water-dripping eyes. My world had turned upside down. It took me a moment to realize I was hanging by my feet. I was tied to a large hook fastened to the dungeon’s ceiling. My hands were cuffed behind my back, and I was stripped of most of my clothes.

6. We’re all sharing here! What’s one of your worst first lines?

I don’t have those first lines anymore, because I have rewritten them. But I have had my fair share of worst first lines, and I am glad that only my beta readers had to suffer through reading them.

7. Do you have any suggestions for other authors on how to write a great first line? Have you heard any great advice yourself?

Always aim for a specific and intriguing first line. If your work is a murder mystery, do not tell me what the investigator is having for breakfast or how he just woke up. Start by telling me what just happened or is going to happen, i.e. the murder that will be investigated. If your work is a spy thriller, tell me what is the mission, the purpose of the characters. Give me something about the villain, the threat that must be stopped. Write it so that the reader will want to keep reading the next paragraph and the one after that. These are words of advice I have heard from more than one well-known author.

8. What are some things a first line *shouldn’t* be? What are some things that you’ve read in first lines that really rubs you the wrong way?

A first line should not be about unimportant aspects of the story, whatever those may be. It should not be boring, passive, and unnecessary. It is the moment where the writer and the author have their first contact. It should be exciting and impressive.

9. Do you have any final words?

Thanks for this opportunity and all the best to everyone trying to make it as a writer.

Ethan Jones is a lawyer by trade and the author of Arctic Wargame, a spy thriller available on Amazon as an e-book and paperback. He has also published two short stories: Carved in Memory, a prequel to Arctic Wargame, and The Last Confession, both available on Amazon as e-books. His second spy thriller, Tripoli’s Target, will be released in fall 2012. Ethan lives in Canada with his wife and his son.

Ethan is giving way ten free copies of his novel, Arctic Wargame, to some lucky, dedicated first line readers! In order to win yourself a copy leave a note in the comments here, or at Ethan’s site: http://ethanjones.blog.com. The first ten readers to leave a comment get a copy! 

First lines interview with author Sarah Billington

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Sarah Billington

1. Do you consider the first line to be an important part of a story? If so, why?

Absolutely. There are SO many books out there to choose from, so many awesome sounding books, too. There’s a lot of competition for readers, and the best way for a reader to tell if your book is worth spending their money, their time and their emotions on, is to read a sample. Some readers sample from the last page (I could never do that, no matter how much I want to know that everything turns out okay), but 99% of readers will sample – or simply start reading – from the start. If the first lines are not interesting, well-written, or contain some sort of hook straight away, that might be as far as your reader gets before putting it down for good.
So yeah, what I’m saying is: No pressure, authors. No pressure at ALL.

2. Do you find first lines easy to come up with, or challenging? Do you have a technique, or a ritual, that you go by to make it easy?

I don’t tend to write the first lines – or any lines – until I have a clear picture of what the scene looks like, what the protagonist’s point of view is, and what some form of opening conflict is. First lines can be easy and they can be hard for me. It depends on how complicated the opening scene is as to how hard it is to work out the exact moment when the reader should come in.

3. What consequences, if any, do you think there are in having a badly written first line?

The worst consequence of all: Readers putting the book down. Not reading it, deciding that your writing – therefore your future writing as well – isn’t for them.

5. What is one of your own best first lines?

I have to say, I’m pretty happy with the first line of my newest book, The Kiss Off, which is

What rhymes with douchebag?

I think it sets the tone pretty well.

6. We’re all sharing here! What’s one of your worst first lines?

I think this one’s a bit of a clunker:

The wizard walked slowly around the crowded tower room.

Fascinating, don’t you think? *snore*

7. Do you have any suggestions for other authors on how to write a great first line? Have you heard any great advice yourself?

Drop your readers into the middle of a scene. Hit the ground running. This doesn’t work for ALL books, more literary books can need a slower build, but for most genre fiction I think this is a pretty solid rule.

8. What are some things a first line *shouldn’t* be? What are some things that you’ve read in first lines that really rubs you the wrong way?

First lines shouldn’t start at the start. They should start when something has, or is going wrong. They shouldn’t start when your protagonist wakes up, and they shouldn’t take you through mundane universal experiences, like getting out of bed and brushing your teeth and getting dressed. We don’t read for that. We LIVE that.

Sarah Billington is an Australian writer and editor who likes to write stories with love, laughs, suspense and zombies. Sometimes all in the same story. Her favouritest thing to write about are those horrendously awkward moments that come with being a teenager. Or a human being. Sarah was extremely accident-prone and klutzy as a kid and teen, so her cup runneth over with experiences of horrendously awkward moments to draw from in her writing. Thankfully, she has grown out of her klutziness. Mostly. She is, however, still an embarrassment.

She loves a variety of random things, which include doggies (hers as well as yours), Swing Dancing, Ice Hockey, Roller Derby and she is a bit obsessive about paranormal investigation shows and channel E!. She writes light-hearted works under Sarah Billington, and darker, scarier and more torturous stories under her pen name, Edwina Ray.

She also runs an editing, cover design and author website design business Billington Media.

Sarah’s new young adult novel, The Kiss Off, about a sixteen-year-old, Poppy who uploads a song to Youtube chronicling her heartbreak due to a cheating ex and finds her emotional dirty laundry in the spotlight as the song goes global comes to ebook May 15, and paperback June 2012.

www.SarahBillington.weebly.com

www.EdwinaRay.weebly.com

First lines interview with Adele Cosgrove-Bray

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Adele Cosgrove-Bray

1. Do you consider the first line to be an important part of a story? If so, why?

After the barriers of an eye-catching book cover followed by some suitably-intriguing blurb have been passed, it’s the first line of the story that browsers usually see. At this point a person is asking themselves, “Is this interesting to me?”

Obviously they’re going to read more than the first sentence, but often not much more beyond three or four paragraphs. There is a lot of decision-making going on as a person dips into a new book, especially if it’s by an author they’re unfamiliar with. They’ll be asking if the story seems their kind of thing and if it looks worth the money. If not, the browser will move on so, yes, it is important – especially now there are a zillion other books just one mouse-click away.

2. Do you find first lines easy to come up with, or challenging? Do you have a technique, or a ritual, that you go by to make it easy?

A mix of both; some of my short stories spring from an idea for a first line. Other first lines take more work, and will be re-written a few times before I’ll settle on the final version.

With Fabian, the novel I’m currently writing – and which is the fourth in my artisan-sorcerer series – I scrapped not only the original first line but the entire first half of the opening chapter after I’d workshopped it at a Riverside Writers meeting and everyone thought the story actually began at the half-way point.

The opening of Rowan consists of three scenes, the first with the main character and his elderly aunt, and then he makes two telephone calls. The phone calls between Rowan and his mother and step-mother form a subplot, and the three scenes introduce not only the main character but his relationships with his family. This is given to the reader not as a lump of data, but via dialogue and Rowan’s reactions to what is said.

When writing, I ask myself what the first chapter needs to achieve. Then I’ll think about the best way to throw the reader right into the story. Waffle and back-story tend to turn people off. I want a reader to feel immediately involved with a scene where something specific is happening. To create that impression with one opening sentence is the aim.

3. What consequences, if any, do you think there are in having a badly written first line?

That’s pretty obvious – a lost audience. A person is likely to think, “If the start of the book’s this bad, how awful is the rest of it?” Then they’ll click on their mouse and be on their way to something which looks more promising. It really is that simple.

4. What’s your favourite first line that you’ve ever read? And can you recall a worst?

These things are entirely subjective, so I won’t snipe. Personal taste is not a measure of anything other than personal taste.

I don’t have an absolute favourite first line, either. I have favourite books, and some of these didn’t necessarily have sparkling openings but I would have bought them because I already knew and liked the author’s work.

Janet Fitch’s White Oleander has a brilliant opening; it’s intensely descriptive but not wordy. Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Angel’s Game reveals some of the main character’s ambitions from the outset. Kelley Armstrong opens her novel Bitten with just three words, but it works well in setting the tension of the scene. I could go on, but you’d end up with a huge list.

5. What is one of your own best first lines?

The first novel in my artisan-sorcerer series, Tamsin, begins with:

The elderly guru was waiting for me on the corner of William Brown Street, with his back to St. George’s Hall.

This introduces an arranged meeting between two people, one of whom is described as a guru, at a specific location. It tells the reader that the story is written in first person. It gives a scene in which something is already starting to happen.

6. We’re all sharing here! What’s one of your worst first lines?

Do you imagine they survive the delete button? I edit mercilessly. I don’t keep old versions of stories which aren’t working.

7. What are some things a first line *shouldn’t* be? What are some things that you’ve read in first lines that really rubs you the wrong way?

Indirect, long-winded, irrelevant and clumsy starts to any novel would lose many readers. Poor grammar and incorrect punctuation are probably things which grate for most people, and certainly they’re one of my pet hates. I once came across a book title which had misused punctuation! Oh dear, if they couldn’t even get the title right…!

8. Do you have any suggestions for other authors on how to write a great first line? Have you heard any great advice yourself?

Don’t be too precious about your writing. Edit and re-write until it works.

Adele Cosgrove-Bray is the author of a series of dark urban fantasy novels which follow the lives of a community of artisan-sorcerers based in Liverpool, England. Tamsin and Rowan are available as paperbacks and ebooks, and Bethany Rose will follow soon. Fabian, the fourth in the series, should be ready next year. The series can be read in any order.

She also writes short fiction and poetry, which is featured in several ebooks.

She shares life on the Wirral peninsula with one husband, two dogs, one cat, various chickens, an assortment of hedgehogs and bats, and a large black toad which lives under the patio step.

Learn more at Adele’s website: http://adelecosgrove-bray.blogspot.co.uk/

First lines interview with author Dalya Moon

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Dalya Moon

Do you consider the first line to be an important part of a story? If so, why?

The first line of a story is important because it has so much power. We’ve given it power! Before there was twitter, there were opening lines, and people have always loved sharing and discussing them.

Like the cover, the first line sets a tone, even if it doesn’t make clear any action or setting. The first line can give comfort or create tension. Its purpose is to make you read the second line. The second line’s purpose is to make you read the third.

Do you find first lines easy to come up with, or challenging? Do you have a technique, or a ritual, that you go by to make it easy?

I have no trouble writing first lines that intrigue me, but I’ve worked in retail sales, and I hang out with many people who have ADD. Real life has trained me in how to grab someone’s attention.

I’ve written half a dozen books now, and my technique varies. I’ve spent entire sessions writing lines that didn’t get used, but these days I’m inclined to go to print with the opening I wrote during the first draft. I figure if it was good enough to get an entire book rolling, it can’t be too shabby.

What consequences, if any, do you think there are in having a badly written first line?

Bad opening lines have horrifying consequences: the eye roll from a fellow author; the disappointed sigh from a book blogger; and a frown from my husband, who is my first reader.

What’s your favourite first line that you’ve ever read? And can you recall a worst?

I have many favourites, but here’s the great one from Douglas Coupland’s Life After God:

I was driving up to Prince George to the home of your grandfather, the golf wino.

It’s in second-person! It’s full of so much colour, plus it hints that dirt is about to be dished. As a bonus for me, personally, I’ve driven to Prince George a number of times in my life, so there’s a personal connection as well.

The worst are the ones that could come from any novel:

She awoke from the nightmare, dripping in sweat, blah blah blah.

(I’m making this up, but you could probably find it in a few books.)

What is one of your own best first lines?

I may be getting a little too clever here for my own good, but I just finished working on two paranormal books and I’m switching back to a contemporary romantic-comedy type of book, and this is the opening line:

My superpower is knowing how people like their eggs.

It’s a cute enough line, for a waitress character, and I love how it feels like an in-joke, if only to myself and my three fans who might follow my books closely enough to get the reference.

We’re all sharing here! What’s one of your worst first lines?

On the cutting-room floor is this little gem:

Love is like rising bread dough.

The line is not horrible, but for Practice Cake, I went with an opening that had less of a narrative frame.

What are some things a first line *shouldn’t* be? What are some things that you’ve read in first lines that really rubs you the wrong way?

While it shouldn’t be generic, neither should a first line be overwrought and overworked. I love first lines that are smart, but cool, and writers who make it look effortless.

Two adjectives is one and a half too many. (I love saying that because it irritates people!)

Do you have any suggestions for other authors on how to write a great first line? Have you heard any great advice yourself?

I advise my fellow authors to look at the original first line from their first draft. Why not groom its eyebrows and use that one?

I’ve read many books about the craft of writing and absorbed so much advice. I love it when people say things like, “Be yourself, but more interesting.” I love advice that is contradictory, because it just goes to show how totally useless advice is, compared to experience.

Dalya Moon writes funny, sweet, weird novels that don’t fit easily into genres, much to her dismay. Her contemporary, humorous Life in Saltwater City series is popular with teens and adults, and includes her bestselling book, Practice Cake. For paranormal fans, The Paranormal Poke Chronicles features a male protagonist, named Zan, with an unusual psychic power in his belly button.

www.dalyamoon.com
www.amazon.com/author/dalya