first lines

Time to Play!

By Karen Ballon May 31, 2017

As I was considering what to write for this week’s blog, I realized I needed a break from all the seriousness of the last few weeks. Not that I don’t love the “conversations” and insights everyone has shared. But, at the core, I’m a golden-retriever kinda gal, and I gots to play! So today seemed perfect for a game I love: First Lines.

SO! Get your play on, folks, and share your first line—and ONLY the first line–of a project you’re working on. Fiction, nonfiction, children’s, short story…we love ‘em all. Now is your chance to test your line out on some readers.

Here’s mine, from a nonfiction project I’m working on:

It took an angry hummingbird to open my eyes.

Ready? Set. Go!

First Lines For All!

By Karen Ballon May 4, 2016

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Last week we considered some powerful first lines that we’ve read. And, as promised, here are the books they’re from: “This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.” The Princess Bride, William Goldman “It’s Nathan’s fault I became God.” The God Game, Andrew Greely “I once listened to an Indian on television say that God was in the wind and the water, and I wondered at …

Category: CraftTag: Craft, first lines, Writing Craft

The Beauty of First Lines

By Karen Ballon April 27, 2016

Has it happened to you? That moment when you open a book, let your eyes rest on the first page, and suddenly, you’re transported. Or shocked. Or laughing. Because the very first line has done exactly what the author hoped. It grabbed you, pulling you into the story as inexorably as a Pacific ocean riptide will carry you out to sea. And, depending on the kind of book, it can be equally terrifying. …

Category: Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, first lines, Writing Craft

What’s Your First Line?

By Karen Ballon November 19, 2014

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Listen! Do you hear it? It’s been there all month, echoing in the background. The sound of hundreds of thousands of fingers tap-tap-tapping away. Yes, it’s here again: NaNoWriMo! That grand adventure of joining with other writers worldwide from November 1-30 to uplift and encourage each other as you write a novel in a month. A full novel. In one month. Sound impossible? Well, I confess I’ve never …

Category: Craft, CreativityTag: first lines, NaNoWriMo, Writing Craft

First Lines of Best-selling Books: How Many Can You Guess?

By Karen Ballon January 29, 2014

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It’s 71 degrees outside as I write this, the sun is shining for the first day in weeks, and there’s a gentle breeze tickling the suddenly budding tree branches outside my office window. As you can probably imagine, I’m having a LOT of trouble concentrating on work. So I thought I’d share something fun with you.

I always wonder how much of the books we love actually stays with us. So let’s do a …

Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Creativity, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Creativity, first lines

The First Lines of Your Novel

By Steve Laubeon September 2, 2013

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by Steve Laube

The opening lines of a novel are like an introduction to the rest of the story. (Karen Ball discussed this over a year ago.) Some have become famous. “It was a dark and stormy night” is the well known beginning of that struggling novelist Snoopy in the cartoon “Peanuts.” It is also the first line of Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s novel Paul Clifford (1830) as well as the first line …

Category: Craft, Creativity, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Creativity, first lines, Writing Craft

What’s MY Line? (First Lines – Part Two)

By Karen Ballon May 23, 2012

I loved reading your favorite first lines last week. Isn’t it amazing how the right first line sets the stage, how it can pull readers out of reality deep into the story that’s being woven around them? I’m always awed at the power of the written word.

As I said last week, a group of writer friends likes to share the first lines of their works in progress. JUST the first line. Not the first …

Category: Craft, Karen, Writing CraftTag: first lines

In the Beginning…First Lines of a Book

By Karen Ballon May 16, 2012

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I don’t know about you, but I love great first lines. First lines that intrigue or challenge, that captivate and spark strong emotion or curiosity. Some writers spend hours, even days crafting that perfect first line to draw readers into the book. For others, the line is just…there.

A group of author friends loves to play the first-line game, where we share the first line from our WIPs. I like …

Category: Craft, Creativity, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Craft, first lines