Publishing Monday: First Lines

The first line of a story Thea wrote for kindergarten about her hamster, Hamsty,
complete with her special glyph for “hamster”.

American Book Review has posted a very engrossing list of 100 best first lines from novels. They appear to be listed in an order similar to a radio Top 100. The first sentences range from the obvious — “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, #2) — to the not-so-obvious (at least to me):

When I finally caught up with Abraham Trahearne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonoma, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon.” — James Crumley, The Last Good Kiss (#85)

This got me to thinking: What makes a great first line in a novel? Obviously, it has to be something which is intriguing enough to compel you to continue reading. Yet it’s more than that—it has to have that intangible something. But what is it?

All this contemplation of first lines is especially timely—I’ve been mulling them over as I head back into revising THE LILY MAID. My current one isn’t bad — “I was surprised when the invitation arrived that June morning from St. John Dulac.” But I’m sure this sentence won’t remain since I plan to rework the book’s opening scene.

Interestingly, the original first line from my NaNoWriMo novel (the root for THE LILY MAID) still remains. The sentence is now tucked into a penultimate chapter near the end: “The original plan was for a candle or two to light the rowboat’s way.” I suspect my current first line will meet a similar fate of “gone from the first chapter but not forgotten.”

Anyone with any thoughts on what makes a great first line feel free to post in the comments! In the meantime, I’ll be trying not to spend too much time obsessing over this. As I know too well, it’s very easy for me to get caught up in the details—a great way to procrastinate.

Hamsty, the protagonist of Thea’s story.

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