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December 5, 2011 | Book Nook
 

Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2011 > December > 05

Monday, December 5, 2011

The best opening lines…

Novelists try to get our attention right away. All writers do. That first line provides a quick answer; should we continue reading this book? Or stop right there.

Years ago I was hired to write a promotional article for an architect. I struggled and sweated and strained over that first sentence. And I got it right. It was terse, pithy and succulent. A year later when the piece was finally published I was so proud. It opened with my magnificent sentence.

I kept reading. Imagine my shock when I realized that the editor had changed every other sentence I had written. That first sentence was left untouched. It was that good.

Meredith Borders at Lit Reactor just posted her top ten best opening lines of novels. Some famous books made her list. Check it out… click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

p.s. Follow me on Twitter: @BookNookVick

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