Behind the Stacks is a new weekly thread post for readers of In A Brown Study. Imagine we have a secret cozy room tucked away in the study where we can gather, talk amongst ourselves, and talk about the things we truly want to talk about without worrying about word limits or voices being lost.
Is anyone else obsessed with the First Line? I am. Ridiculously so. I can spend absolute HOURS on revising and rewriting just the first line of my WIP. (I don’t recommend, but it is what it is, folks.) I also have a running Google Doc of random potential first lines that pop into my head throughout the day.
Today, let’s share our favorite First Lines from books we’ve read or stories we are writing.
It's not exactly what you asked for, but here are a few first lines from various media that I felt were exactly perfect:
-- from The Fellowship of the Ring movie --
Galadriel (in elvish): I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae a han noston ned 'wilith.
Galadriel (in English): The world is changed; I can feel it in the water, I can feel it in the earth, I can smell it in the air.
-- from The Sound of Silence, song by Simon & Garfunkel --
Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again
-- from The Mirror Empire, Worldbreaker Saga book one, by Kameron Hurley --
Because ruin so often came from the sky, borne by fickle satellites on erratic orbits, Shao Maralah Daonia did not think to look to the sea until it was too late.
-- from Love and Rage, by Lama Rod Owens --
Since the 2016 Presidential election, shit has been hard for some of us.
-- first piece of dialogue (this is cheating, it's more than one sentence) from Death Stranding, a video game --
Man: Once there was an explosion… A bang which gave birth to time and space. Once, there was an explosion… A bang which set a planet spinning in that space. Once, there was an explosion… A bang which gave rise to life as we know it. And then came the next explosion.
OKAY I keep meaning to comment on this and then forgetting to get the book and then forgetting and remembering 😂 (ADHD hahaha.) ANYWAY the one that has always stuck with me is the first line of What Should Be Wild by Julia Fine: “They grew me inside my mother, which was unusual, because she was dead.”
Here are mine!
WIP #1: If looks could kill, Professor Daniels would have already been dead six times since this morning.
WIP #2: Eli Thornwood’s faded white caravan came into view as I rounded the corner of the uneven gravel driveway
WIP #3: Every town, village, and high city has a Sin Eater; we have a Saint Eater.
WIP #4: Morgan Fay, don't you dare make me late for my grandmother's funeral.
these are amazing, I especially love the first one!
Thank you!!!
YES. I get stuck on first lines quite a bit.
It's not exactly what you asked for, but here are a few first lines from various media that I felt were exactly perfect:
-- from The Fellowship of the Ring movie --
Galadriel (in elvish): I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae a han noston ned 'wilith.
Galadriel (in English): The world is changed; I can feel it in the water, I can feel it in the earth, I can smell it in the air.
-- from The Sound of Silence, song by Simon & Garfunkel --
Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again
-- from The Mirror Empire, Worldbreaker Saga book one, by Kameron Hurley --
Because ruin so often came from the sky, borne by fickle satellites on erratic orbits, Shao Maralah Daonia did not think to look to the sea until it was too late.
-- from Love and Rage, by Lama Rod Owens --
Since the 2016 Presidential election, shit has been hard for some of us.
-- first piece of dialogue (this is cheating, it's more than one sentence) from Death Stranding, a video game --
Man: Once there was an explosion… A bang which gave birth to time and space. Once, there was an explosion… A bang which set a planet spinning in that space. Once, there was an explosion… A bang which gave rise to life as we know it. And then came the next explosion.
Omg yes I love these! And these totally still count. Media in general!
OKAY I keep meaning to comment on this and then forgetting to get the book and then forgetting and remembering 😂 (ADHD hahaha.) ANYWAY the one that has always stuck with me is the first line of What Should Be Wild by Julia Fine: “They grew me inside my mother, which was unusual, because she was dead.”
Like I opened it, read that line, closed the book and immediately bought it 🤣🤣
Your first lines have me wanting more for sure!