You’ve got to love Snoopy’s determination to get published, (he first began writing his novel on July 12 1965 fact lovers) - but long before you are ready to tackle the slushpile* there’s all that writing to do.
And it usually begins the same way with an unused notebook or blank computer screen- taunting you: ‘go on then,’ ‘get on with it’. You have to make a start - but how to begin?
Whether you are writing a short story or a full length novel often one of the first hurdles is the first line.
And let’s be honest it can be even harder if you decide to seek inspiration and see how others managed it. Talk about intimidating!
There’s been some classics - here’s a few from my own overflowing bookshelves - how many do you recognise?:
1. In a hole there lived a hobbit.
2. The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.
3. Marley was dead, to begin with.
4. “Where’s Papa going with that axe?� said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
5. If our Anthony was telling this story, he’d start with the money.
6. I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time.
7. Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal thankyou very much.
8.All children, except one, grow up.
I’ve been puzzling over these randomly chosen samples - what makes them so good? Well of course the main thing they have in common is that they make me want to read on. They also have a strong voice - there’s a confidence in the story-telling. They are also all different - some use first person, one uses dialogue, some have a narration-type quality. Which do you like best? The ones I feel I connect to most are Zafon - a cemetery of forgotten books? I’m hooked- and White - Where is Papa going with that axe?
I have penned many first lines myself and for my first Dr Midas book it has been changed quite considerably from what I began with.
I think that’s worth noting here - that it doesn’t really matter what your first line is like at the early stage of your story- you can always change it. The thing is to keep going.
Oh and my first line? 'The most important day in Millie's life had finally arrived.' - Tell me if you think it works or not and why.
Answers:
1.J.R.R Tolkien The Hobbit
2.Ian Fleming Casino Royale
3.Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol
4.E.B White Charlotte’s Web
5. Frank Cottrell Boyce Millions
6. The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
7. J.K Rowling Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
8. J.M Barrie Peter Pan.
* Slushpile - The (rather derogatory) name given to unsolicited manuscripts waiting to be read at an agents or publishers.
Unsolicited - Sent in on spec - not requested.
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