Opening Sentences.

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Once you have a killer title you gotta make a killer opening sentence kinda like this example: BITCH! WHERE'D YOU GET THE IDEA YOUR MARRIED PUSSY IS FINE CHINA i GOTTA BE CAREFUL WITH?

Or, CAN YOU REFER ME SOMEPLACE WHERE I CAN LEARN TO BE A LESBIAN?

Or, TYRONE, I ENJOYED YOUR COCK A LOT LAST NIGHT, BUT I WANT MORE NOW, AND I CANT GET MORE FROM YOU, NOW CAN I?

Or, I'M CATHOLIC AND I CANT GET AN ABORTION!

Or, Brad opened the bedroom door and shit, "Cheryl! Who in fuck is he!" Cheryl turned her head around to look at the bull packing her ass, "I forgot to ask," she replied.

 

[oggbashan]

The most famous opening sentence?

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Or this specimen, WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'IT'S NOTHING TO GET EXCITED ABOUT'? HE HAD YOUR SKIRT PULLED UP OVER YOUR WAIST!

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”

Youre a poet!

 

[TxRad]

It's called a hook.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

It's called a hook.

Yes and no.

Hooks are not required to be first sentences. They need to come soon but they can appear somewhere on the first page.

I'm speaking of the first sentence as a step toward the hook.

 

[JackLuis]

"How come it's so soft, Mr. Johnson?" she asked.

"So I don't hurt you."

"Well could you at least get it in?"

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

"How come it's so soft, Mr. Johnson?" she asked.

"So I don't hurt you."

"Well could you at least get it in?"

You know why they call me Mister Johnson dont you?

 

[Tio_Narratore]

You know why they call me Mister Johnson dont you?

Is it because you "missed her, Johnston?"

 

[JackLuis]

Try this one, it has a Johnson in it.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Try this one, it has a Johnson in it.

More to the point, no one calls his best possession a Luis, tho Jack is occasionally used.

 

[sr71plt]

What a good opening sentence is changes with the change in the type of blockbuster going. "My name is Ishamel" is no longer the killer opening it once was. Because of the popularity of action thrillers and the fast-moving digital times we're in, the killer opening sentence now dumps the reader straight into action--and some confusion to work out of.

The most-given advice currently by publishing editors to authors--after they've decided to seriously consider a book--is, "OK, let's lop off those first three chapters of background and start it right here, in the middle of dialogue, when she slaps him, grabs her purse, and runs out of the restaurant."

Now the dilemma hits you *boom* in the face from the first sentence.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

What a good opening sentence is changes with the change in the type of blockbuster going. "My name is Ishamel" is no longer the killer opening it once was. Because of the popularity of action thrillers and the fast-moving digital times we're in, the killer opening sentence now dumps the reader straight into action--and some confusion to work out of.

The most-given advice currently by publishing editors to authors--after they've decided to seriously consider a book--is, "OK, let's lop off those first three chapters of background and start it right here, in the middle of dialogue, when she slaps him, grabs her purse, and runs out of the restaurant."

Now the dilemma hits you *boom* in the face from the first sentence.

How about starting it when she slaps him, grabs his purse, and runs out of the restaurant?

 

[sr71plt]

How about starting it when she slaps him, grabs his purse, and runs out of the restaurant?

Even better. More interesting dilemma.

 

[Ironiclaconic]

I usually hate rules by editors, but starting with the conflict is a good one. That can be different from starting with action.

"My name is Ishmael, and I want to know if you have ever been harpooned by a whaler who knows how to use his harpoon?"

"A screaming orgasm came across the sky."

"It was the best of fucks, it was the worst of fucks."

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a submissive with a fondness for leather."

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Is it because you "missed her, Johnston?"

TIO youre not even clever. You remind me of the mailman, Cliffie, on CHEERS.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Sheila Never Expected To Sell Her Black Ass When She Moved From Long Island To Florida.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

TIO youre not even clever. You remind me of the mailman, Cliffie, on CHEERS.

That's "your," I believe, JBJ, not "youre."

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

That's "your," I believe, JBJ, not "youre."

Uh, no, dear. YOURE= YOU ARE (subject, verb).

YOUR is a pronoun.

Are you black, Tio? You read like Tarzan speaks. TIO, HIM HEAP GOOD ORATOR.

'tio YOUR not even clever' sounds so Modern Queens English. Maybe theyve atrophied to YO by now, its likely.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Uh, no, dear. YOURE= YOU ARE (subject, verb).

YOUR is a pronoun.

Are you black, Tio? You read like Tarzan speaks. TIO, HIM HEAP GOOD ORATOR.

'tio YOUR not even clever' sounds so Modern Queens English. Maybe theyve atrophied to YO by now, its likely.

Right on, JBJ. you've abandoned the apostrophe and confused me. 3/4 point for you. Congratulations.

I'm afraid, though, that your mock Tarzan is more like mock generic American Indian. You heap good, Jane. Me Tarzanish.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Right on, JBJ. you've abandoned the apostrophe and confused me. 3/4 point for you. Congratulations.

I'm afraid, though, that your mock Tarzan is more like mock generic American Indian. You heap good, Jane. Me Tarzanish.

TIO YOU STEPPED IN DOG SHIT. Go away.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

TIO YOU STEPPED IN DOG SHIT. Go away.

That's what I enjoy about your threads and posts, JBJ - the witty repartee that so easily spills from your keen mind!

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

That's what I enjoy about your threads and posts, JBJ - the witty repartee that so easily spills from your keen mind!

I dont know if its witty but its pithy.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

I dont know if its witty but its pithy.

Oh, dear boy, I'm sure that pithy would imply some substance to your thought. Well, you did manage to think of dog shit, and I guess that is a substance...

 

[sr71plt]

Sheila Never Expected To Sell Her Black Ass When She Moved From Long Island To Florida.

That's not a sentence; it's an overlong title (and even then improperly capitalized).