tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522290935304299870.post1053187915882999491..comments2023-10-31T15:28:50.173+00:00Comments on Princess of Procrastination: *is pondering about openings*Amber T. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087021598115958337noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522290935304299870.post-31137990085605515072009-11-18T20:22:28.297+00:002009-11-18T20:22:28.297+00:00Great post! The opening line for LoTR was not the...Great post! The opening line for LoTR was not the best hook, but you have to remember that his hook was the entire book The Hobbit. It does have one of my favorite opening lines. "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit." Very to the point and leaves you wanting to know more.Marjoriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09958530958484080973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522290935304299870.post-5026619405624832252009-11-17T21:39:57.462+00:002009-11-17T21:39:57.462+00:00Openers can be torture, so I tend to use eye-catch...Openers can be torture, so I tend to use eye-catching hooks with "look at me, I'm doing something weird and interesting" written all over them.<br /><br />Writers who can sum up the essence of their books in the opening line, well... no wonder Austen is the Darling of the Classics. :)<br /><br />Word ver: mobilit -- travelling libraries!M.J. Nichollshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12972190103986599079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522290935304299870.post-68367832638628851082009-11-17T18:16:52.097+00:002009-11-17T18:16:52.097+00:00Great topic, Tara! I wish I could write good first...Great topic, Tara! I wish I could write good first lines, but I always seem to need a few paragraphs to easy into things. Then again, I like you wonder how much of a difference it makes. I too put more emphasis on what I read on the back of the book than the first sentence. A brilliant first line thus rarely effects whether or not I pick up the book, but I guess a good or bad opening can determine if I actually end up reading it. <br /><br />One of my favourite first lines: <br />"Det var i den tid jeg gikk omkring og sultet i Kristiania, denne forunderlige by som ingen forlater før han har fåt mærker av den.."<br />Opening sentence of Knut Hamsun's "Sult" [Hunger] - I don't much care for the book (though there are others of his I love), but the opening is brilliant. <br /><br />I was gonna let you take my word for it, but then I found a decent translation (though by no means a perfect one) : "All of this happened while I was walking around starving in Christiania - that strange city no one escapes from until it has left its mark on him..." <br /><br />I'm not entirely sure if Oslo [aka Christiania/Kristiania] still has that effect on people, though...Cruella Colletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11422848273167338884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522290935304299870.post-14456180942963303752009-11-17T18:09:11.177+00:002009-11-17T18:09:11.177+00:00Hahahaha, I knew you'd like the Girlfriend'...Hahahaha, I knew you'd like the Girlfriend's Curse one...*snort* I immediately thought of you when I read it last night :)<br /><br />I agree with you on the attention span thing. LotR is an awesome book, but it would definitely slip through the net if it was published today. This is what I mean though, the opening for this book is not a super-hook, yet you can't deny that the book as a whole is one of the best out there. Opening CHAPTER, yes, very interseting, but opening LINE, not so much. <br /><br />My NaNo opener is pants. The chapter itself is quite amusing (at leasy I HOPE it is), but the opening line is pretty boring. I'll be changing it once I get to the editing stage, definitely.<br /><br />Your Bill Clinton line is awesome though. *grins*Amber T. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01087021598115958337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522290935304299870.post-16607078538769354522009-11-17T17:28:13.049+00:002009-11-17T17:28:13.049+00:00Well I like the thoughts... LOVE that girlfriend c...Well I like the thoughts... LOVE that girlfriend curse opening line!<br /><br />I rather like the Lord of the Rings opener, as he does stay entangled in what extraordinary creatures hobbits are... I find the trilogy long-winded too (in spite of liking it) and couldn't get Sam to listen (always a bad sign) so i suspect you are right about today's market, but that only makes me sad. I wish today's market had a longer attention span.<br /><br />I'm still very pleased with my NaNo opener... <br /><br />"I slept with Bill Clinton." <br /><br />Yeah... it's a good line. *snort*Hart Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17599570189253229318noreply@blogger.com