First sentence -- how important?

[PennLady]

I frequently read that the first sentence of a story is so important, that it should hook and grab the reader, etc. I don't disagree, but I have to wonder how much weight to put here, because I have never stopped reading a book or story based on only one sentence. I give a book/story several paragraphs if not pages before I decide whether to keep going.

What does anyone else think?

 

[Hard_Rom]

First paragraph maybe. First sentence could be "I woke up late on Saturday." Not very attention grabbing. But if they then describe why they woke late or the consequences that is different.

Snoopy started all his stories with "It was a dark and stormy night."

 

[JagFarlane]

Can't say I've ever stopped reading a story after the first sentence. Depends on the length of the story to me, I've given novels several chapters to set the scene and work into the plot. Short stories I'd lean more on the first paragraph or two as the amount of leeway a reader will give.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The first sentence should be like a foot touching your leg under the table, or knees drifting apart or a truck suddenly crushing a napping puppy. It should make any other activity or interest impossible.

 

[Weird Harold]

I frequently read that the first sentence of a story is so important, that it should hook and grab the reader, etc. I don't disagree, but I have to wonder how much weight to put here, because I have never stopped reading a book or story based on only one sentence. I give a book/story several paragraphs if not pages before I decide whether to keep going.

What does anyone else think?

If you can condense your Hook down into a single sentence, it will be much more effective than if you take a paragraph, page, or chapter to hook your reader.

"I hate my fiancee's clocks."

...is the first sentence (and paragraph) of Two Bags For The Bride. That's my best story and I think that I found a decent "hook" deserves much of the credit for its success.

 

[RoyceConnors]

The first sentence should be like a foot touching your leg under the table, or knees drifting apart or a truck suddenly crushing a napping puppy. It should make any other activity or interest impossible.

With this, I totally agree. The first sentence shows the writer's ability to begin a story well and gives a reader promise of good things to come. I'm not saying a story is bad if the first sentence isn't attention grabbing, but it tends to make me wonder how much filler I'm going to have to read through instead of story.

"Fuck you, asshole, don't ever let me see your face again, you fucking loser."
I remember those words as clearly as if they were just spoken to me, but here she was, three years later knocking on my door for some reason and I had to wonder why. I looked through the peep hole again and smiled to myself, as I unlocked the door and opened it.

Attention grabbing start and a good lead in to want to know more. Off the top of my head as an example, but it makes JB's statement valid, that it should delegate the writer's ability to get your attention from the first sentence and hold it till the last.

 

[PennLady]

If you can condense your Hook down into a single sentence, it will be much more effective than if you take a paragraph, page, or chapter to hook your reader.

"I hate my fiancee's clocks."

...is the first sentence (and paragraph) of Two Bags For The Bride. That's my best story and I think that I found a decent "hook" deserves much of the credit for its success.

Like I said, I'm not saying it's not important. I do believe the first sentence should at least pique your interest. But I've read more than one article that makes it sound like the first sentence is do-or-die, and I just don't think that's the case the vast majority of the time. I don't think a first sentence, unless it's a terrible run-on or full of errors or something like that, is enough to judge anything on.

And I'd also agree that if you take too long to hook your reader, then you're doing something wrong. In a story I wrote for publishing a while ago, my first sentence was "Run." And people seemed to like it.

Most of the time I open with a line of dialogue; when I read a line of dialogue, I want to know who's speaking, to whom, about what, etc.

This is just something I think most of us have been taught since high school English or so, and I was pondering it the other day.

 

[loquere]

Depending on my mood I might stop reading some Litterotica stories if the first sentence is crap. I’ll usually read the first paragraph though. However I always try to make my own first sentences appealing.

 

[Serafina1210]

Surely a lot depends on genre. You write a lot in Romance, PennLady, and there you ought to be able to get away with quiet (not dull) beginnings. And then, you've been successful enough that many readers probably trust you to deliver an entertaining story even if the first paragraph doesn't hit readers like a truck.

Likewise, once you've launched a series and hooked some readers, they'll stick with you even though you don't begin every chapter with fireworks.

 

[AZMotherLover]

"Call me Ishmael."

Not very attention grabbing, but the book did okay.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

Now that's an opening line. Pretty good book, too.

 

[Hypoxia]

"First sentences are doors to worlds." --Ursula K. LeGuin

But those doors can be very very different, from grand gateways to escape hatches. (That's a metaphor, folks.) Sometimes grabby dialogue (especially shouts), sometimes ominous forebodings, whatever. No, a bad first sentence doesn't turn me off -- unless I wrote it. Then it's my fault.

 

[AZMotherLover]

"I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror."

The first line from one of the most widely read works of erotica in recent times.

Nothing special about it, right?

 

[Serafina1210]

"I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror."

The first line from one of the most widely read works of erotica in recent times.

Nothing special about it, right?

Only that it asks questions that need answers: who is it? Why is s/he dissatisfied with his/her looks? What does a scowl say about the person's personality?

On the other hand, it's a piece of shit stylistically.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Can't say I've ever stopped reading a story after the first sentence. Depends on the length of the story to me, I've given novels several chapters to set the scene and work into the plot. Short stories I'd lean more on the first paragraph or two as the amount of leeway a reader will give.

I have. "Her breasts were a 44 DDD." I stopped right there and moved on.

 

[PennLady]

Surely a lot depends on genre. You write a lot in Romance, PennLady, and there you ought to be able to get away with quiet (not dull) beginnings. And then, you've been successful enough that many readers probably trust you to deliver an entertaining story even if the first paragraph doesn't hit readers like a truck.

Likewise, once you've launched a series and hooked some readers, they'll stick with you even though you don't begin every chapter with fireworks.

Thank you for the kind words. And I agree about authors who have a fan base. I'm a big Neil Gaiman fan, so when I pick up a new book by him, I'm more in it for the big picture. I would only notice the first sentence as part of the whole, I guess you'd say.

As for romance, readers might have a certain set of expectations for the story, but a beginning could still put them off if it isn't done properly, or properly for the reader.

 

[lovecraft68]

I frequently read that the first sentence of a story is so important, that it should hook and grab the reader, etc. I don't disagree, but I have to wonder how much weight to put here, because I have never stopped reading a book or story based on only one sentence. I give a book/story several paragraphs if not pages before I decide whether to keep going.

What does anyone else think?

For me, as I can only speak for me, I always give a book the entire first chapter before forming an opinion. A first sentence or paragraph isn't enough of a sampling. I have read shitty intros that turned good and good intros that went down hill so I give things a chance.

For lit stories if its a few pages I give it the first page before I decide if its good or bad. If its one page I end up reading the entire thing regardless.

 

[sr71plt]

The "first sentence" and even "first paragraph" thing is sort of overblown, well-meaning guidance you'd give to new writers to get them focused. The glory of fiction writing is that so many approaches to anything can be successful and welcomed as fresh. It's quite possible that a first sentence or paragraph could stop me dead in my tracks on a read, but I can't remember it every having happened.

I do start off with a "grip 'em immediately" assignment. But I don't feel I need to get it all done in the first sentence.

 

[R. Richard]

Snoopy started all his stories with "It was a dark and stormy night."

Actually, Snoopy stole the line from Bulwer-Lytton.

 

[Bramblethorn]

"Call me Ishmael."

Not very attention grabbing, but the book did okay.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

Now that's an opening line. Pretty good book, too.

You can tell which of those two got paid by the word

 

[Hypoxia]

Actually, Snoopy stole the line from Bulwer-Lytton.

B-L only used the line once, thankfully. Snoopy was a recidivist.

Tangent: I am a big fan of the Bulwer-Lytton Writing Contest, wherein entrants try to write the worst opening line to the worst book possible. Some are truly wretched; others are supremely clever. My favorite IIRC:

"There's more than one way to skin a cat," she mused, as she pinned its little feet to the dissection board.​

Other opening sentences, modeled on B-L's prolix style, extend for hundreds of words. Yow. I haven't memorized any of those.

 

[HeyAll]

I've always felt that a good first sentence, and a good first paragraph, are fairly important. Personally, when I click on a story, I check out the opening to see if I like the writing style. If I do, I'll give it a further look.

I try to start broad. I write stories similar to essays, where it starts broadly, and then slowly narrows down to the plot.

 

[Bramblethorn]

B-L only used the line once, thankfully. Snoopy was a recidivist.

Tangent: I am a big fan of the Bulwer-Lytton Writing Contest, wherein entrants try to write the worst opening line to the worst book possible. Some are truly wretched; others are supremely clever. My favorite IIRC:

"There's more than one way to skin a cat," she mused, as she pinned its little feet to the dissection board.​

Other opening sentences, modeled on B-L's prolix style, extend for hundreds of words. Yow. I haven't memorized any of those.

I never really understood why Bulwer-Lytton became the poster-boy for turgid writing. His stuff really wasn't that bad and some of it is pretty good - he gave us turns of phrase like "the pen is mightier than the sword" and "the almighty dollar".

William McGonagall, now...

 

[MatthewVett]

I try to have a hook-y first line, but I do think it's important to have something interesting in the first few paragraphs to intrigue the reader and keep them reading.

 

[sethp]

a sample of my first sentences.

Busty Jessica stretched, swung out of bed and walked over to the full-length mirror on the far wall.

Robert had been busy preparing for the family camping trip all day.

“Fuck that bitch!” Lisa spat out through her tears, as she smashed another trophy against her bedroom wall.

They threw her down onto the hard stone floor of the cell and slammed the steel door shut behind her.

Jenny Crawford was excited.

Nobody had hair like Tawny.

Rachel was just pulling her coat on when John came down the stairs.

Ellie oiled the slide of her silver trombone with the ease of habit.

Otis had been thinking about this night for a long time.

"Really?" Nancy Madison squealed in disgust.

Seth rechecked his weapons, and then made sure he didn't have anything on him that would link him to his real life.

Mandy started sliding her lips faster up and down Bill's shaft.

Steve found himself the last person in the office again.

"The smell of your skin lingers on me now.

Jenny knew just what to do.

______

some of them compel you to read on and others are just serviceable intro lines. Yeah?

 

[DeYaKen]

If you want a grteat opening line look no further than The Crow Road by Ian Banks.

"It was the day my grandmother exploded."