Pickup Lines

Why is the first sentence in a book so important? It’s the hook to reel in the audience to keep turning the page and stay engaged. Authors, no doubt, spend a lot of time sweating over that introduction—editing and revising until they settle on what feels right.

Consider the following famous novel openings.

"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, the whole of the Shire was interested and excited.” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

The first line introduces the story’s main character in a most intriguing way. His name and township sound peculiar. And what’s an eleventy-first birthday, anyway? Ready to move on to see what a party of special magnificence looks like?

Let’s try a more recent one. “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

This intro is all attitude, thank you very much. The lady doeth protest too much, methinks. There must be something not perfectly normal in Mr. and Mrs. Dursley’s lives and I’m in!

How about this one? "Conscription Day is always the deadliest. Maybe that’s why the sunrise is especially beautiful this morning-because I know it might be my last.” ~ Rebecca Yarrows, Fourth Wing (The Empyrean Book 1)

Oh, no! How could she be thrown into mortal peril on such a beautiful morning? Say it isn’t so. Better read more to find out.

The next one starts out a lot lower key than mortal peril, but certainly plants as much curiosity in the reader to find out more. Granted it’s a few sentences but who wouldn’t read past the first line to dig deeper into that single mirror?

“There is one mirror in my house. It is behind a sliding panel in the hallway upstairs. Our faction allows me to stand in front of it on the second day of every third month, the day my mother cuts my hair.” Veronica Roth, Divergent

Finally, let’s look at a first line from a New York Times bestseller that might not be as engaging.

"The forest had become a labyrinth of snow and ice.” ~ Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses

Obviously, it’s a popular novel, but in my humble opinion, that opening fails to captivate like the others. Perhaps that’s the best writing advice to take away from this little exercise. No need to belabor the opening line or paragraph with undo angst and gnashing of teeth. Maybe just get along with the rest of the plot. A gripping story and irresistible characters make all the difference.