This is one of the hardest things about writing in my eyes. I always think I have such a good first line and in a week when I come back to it, I usually trash it. So here are a few tips about first lines.
First lines are there to hook in the readers. You don’t want a boring first line or there is a chance someone won’t pick up your book. You do not have to the best first line, just one that catches a readers interests. Here are a few great first lines:
The Young Elites by Marie Lu, “I’m going to die tomorrow morning.”
Harry Potter and the Scorers Stone by J.K Rowling, ” Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”
Shatter Me by Tehereh Mafi, “I’ve been locked up for 264 days.”
I think of first lines as the thesis to a research paper, yuck! But it is basically the same idea. You want one line that can lead into your novel. One line to make the reader go “What? Why? I want more!”
For me I like the simple one lines. This is different for others. To me one line should be a few words. For my Nanowrimo novel this is my rough draft first line:
“Everyday I become more ashamed of the society I live in.”
DO NOT be afraid to come back to your first line. I have heard it is best to come back to your first line when your novel is finished because you can make this line stronger. But for now my one line I feel is a good lead into my book. It shows my characters thinking already which will lead into how he lives his life and developers.
I hope this helped a little and inspired you to write write write!
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