Tag: opening lines

AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Opening Lines

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Confession time. I’m hijacking this Top 5 Tuesday post and turning it into a writing/brag post. (Sorry Shanah!)

I’m terrible at remembering which books I’ve read had great opening lines. So normally, I’d just tap out on this week’s, but instead I thought I’d take the opportunity to share the opening line to the book I’m currently writing. I could use the feedback, and I think it’s a pretty darned good one. One of the best opening lines of all time? Certainly not. But if it makes people want to read the second line, it’s done it’s job, hasn’t it?

This story begins the same way all the best Rex Roderick stories begin: fighting over a woman.

I’m about 70K words into this novel so far, and I’m loving (almost) every minute of it. I think I’m going to end up being prouder (more proud?) of this book than any of the others. Let’s hope that’s a good sign toward this being the one that finally gets some attention from literary agents.

Fun fact about this post: I have an entire trilogy planned out in my head for this one, which hasn’t happened before.
First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday — July 7, 2017

Posted on by J.W. Martin

First Lines Fridays is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words.

What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Rules:

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

“Everyone my age remembers where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the contest. I was sitting in my hideout watching cartoons when the news bulletin broke in on my video feed, announcing that James Halliday had died during the night.”

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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I don’t remember where I originally heard about Ready Player One, but it was an instant classic for me, easily soaring to the top of all my all-time favourite books.

If you like video games and/or grew up in the 80s this book will feel like it was custom made for you. If you don’t like video games and didn’t grow up in the 80s… you’ll still probably love this book. It’s just that damn good.

Goodreads synopsis:

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the  OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.