Skip to main content

Best First Lines in Novels.

In a post dated 9th May 2006 on John Ling's site, he writes:
Most people ignore the power of that first sentence. It can kick things off and set a mood. And the best way to learn how to write one is to study the openings of some classic novels... (more on his site)
How true. One of my favourite things to do when I'm in a bookstore is to open a novel and read the opening line--to see whether the author can hook me into his or her story. If I find one that's really good, I make a mental note of it (and perhaps even buy the book in hand) so I can learn to write as good an opening line in my stories.

Check out the American Book Review's list of 100 Best First Lines in Novels. I don't agree with some of the inclusions but at least my favourite is listed:
30. The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. —William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984)
But take note! It is usually advised (I think Elmore Leonard is a major proponent) that a story should not start with weather. Gibson got away with it because he was just good.

UPDATE:
Swifty shares with us the opposite of the spectrum: Worst opening lines in made-up novels.
Labels:

Comments

  1. peacenik9/5/06 6:49 pm

    Good stuff. I wish you well. Hope you write a best seller.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ted Mahsun9/5/06 6:53 pm

    Thanks! I'd have to finish it first! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Edmund Yeo9/5/06 9:25 pm

    For something entirely different, you can check out the worst opening lines for made-up novels. It's a contest of sorts.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ted Mahsun10/5/06 12:06 am

    Ah, coolness! Thanks for the heads up, Swifty! I was vaguely aware of this before I think, because I seem to remember the winning entry of 2005.

    This could be a warning for what authors should stay away from... and should also elicit quite a few chuckles :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. KY10/5/06 10:31 am

    Gibson is excellent. Do you read Neal Stephenson too?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ted Mahsun10/5/06 10:42 am

    No, but I have heard a lot of good things about Snowcrash. Have been tempted to pick either that or Cryptonomicon in a bookstore before but I have to confess... the thickness of those book are a bit intimidating!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lesson: Commemorative Covers are Lame.

Well, I got the first day cover that commemorates the 35th anniversary of the establishment diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia that I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Except that it's not a first day cover, it's a commemorative cover, which is a slightly different beast. I guess I should read the news article properly next time! The difference between the two is that first day covers are specially-designed envelopes stuck on with specially-designed stamps, and marked with a specially-designed postmark. A commemorative cover is a specially-designed envelope... and that's it. All in all, it's an unremarkable affair, especially if you're used to well-designed first day covers (not that Malaysian first day covers are well-designed... but I digress). Oh sure, a commemorative cover has a stamp printed right on to it but that's just like an overglorified aerogramme. Lame. On the whole, what a disappointment. I haven't been collecting first day cover...
5 comments
Read more

REVIEW: Confessions of an Old Boy by Kam Raslan

Kam Raslan's right. In the preface for his new book, Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato' Hamid Adventures he writes that we've known Dato' Hamid all our lives. Seeing as my own dad is an old boy of MCKK, the people I get to meet when he drags me to an Old Boy function and the people he tells me of, reflect the characters found in Kam's book. It really does feel like I've known Dato' Hamid all my life. Dato' Hamid is a civil servant of the Tunku Abdul Rahman generation. He is the sort of person you rarely see nowadays, a fine example of the anachronistic Malay. This generation, groomed in the ways of the colonial British would be out of place not just in 21st century Malaysia, but in Britain too. And yet, Dato' Hamid, in all his snobbishness and patronising ways, is essentially a Malaysian. Without people like him, our country would probably never exist at all. At least not like we know it now. I'm glad that Kam Raslan decided to capture this ...
5 comments
Read more

An Ipoh Ghost Story.

When I was growing up in Ipoh in the 90s, the only good bookshops around were Mubaruk's, which specialised in textbooks (and still does), and Novelhut, the second-hand bookstore that used to be in Yik Foong (and maybe still is there, but I haven't checked in years since I prefer going to their Ipoh Parade outlet when I'm in town). There was also a pretty good bookstore in the Parkson Grand in Ipoh Parade which could have been a Berita outlet, but I don't remember. This was in the days before they expanded Ipoh Parade into what it is today. (And temporarily causing the Convent school next door to consider moving.) I recall this because I was thinking of when exactly I started reading "serious" fiction, trying to pinpoint the years when I moved from young adult/fantasy/sci-fi books into non-genre fiction. I still can't remember, but it brought back memories of a book I bought from a short-lived bookshop in Old Town. Mum had brought me there, because she must...
6 comments
Read more