Have you ever picked up a book, flipped it to the first page and read the first couple sentences and were utterly bored to tears? Or perhaps you pushed on hoping the first page would get better, only to find that, no, it didn't.
No? That's wonderful! Your scope of reading must be incredible!
Yes? Well, that's what I'm here to talk about today. Err...write about today? Anyway, in writing the novels I have (either started or completed) I've come to realize the EXTREME importance of the opening lines of the book.
I'm sure we've all perused a bookstore looking for our next read only to be deterred by opening lines such as:
Yesterday, my dog peed on my shoe. I hate when that happens.
or
She woke up feeling exhausted from her restless sleep.
or
I really hope I will ace my trig exam today.
Okay - those are all made up first lines...and they are really bad. Honestly, would you want to read on using those first lines as the basis of the whole story? I shouldn't think so.
Alright, so here we're going to get into the opening lines of some of my favorite YA novels. After reading each one, think about if the lines make you want to read on. If they do, why? If not, why not?
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Locked in darkness that surrounded me like a coffin, I had nothing to distract me from my memories. Vivid recollections waited to ambush me whenever my mind wandered.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
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.
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
She was born Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, and she did not open her eyes for three days.
Eve by Anna Carey
Ignoring the letter to Eve in the very beginning....
By the time the sun set over the fifty-foot perimeter wall, the School lawn was covered with twelfth-year students. The younger girls leaned out of the dormitory windows, waving their New American flags as we sang and danced.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind. One that had so far proven correct, as Oll's maps tended to do.
So here is my advice, take a look at your writing. Read over your opening lines, do they draw you in as a reader or do they leave you feeling blah? If you're having a hard time determining the catchyness of your first page, hand it off to someone else and ask their opinion. It never hurts to get someone else's take on the matter.
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