Pick one of the following open lines, and write the beginning of the story.
(A) I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.
(B) It was the day my grandmother exploded.
(C) I am seated in an office, surrounded by heads and bodies.
(D) It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.
A: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
B: The Crow Road by Iain Banks
C: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
D: 1984 by George Orwell
Questions
1) How does being dropped into a scene pull you into the story? Does it make you want to keep reading? What do you learn from just these few first lines?
2) What questions does this opening raise? What background does the reader now need to understand the story? How does the writer supply it?
3) Consider how else the writer might have started the story. Was this the best choice? Why?
4) What else do you notice or admire about this essay? What lessons might it have for your writing?
