First Line Generator

What a first line has to do

A first line does not have to be brilliant. It has to make the reader want the second one. The simplest way to do that is to put a specific person in front of something that has just changed, or something they have long known and never said. Every result here follows that rule: a person, a disturbance, and a small gap in what the reader is told.

Be careful with famous lines. The openings readers remember tend to be strange in one particular way, such as a claim that sounds wrong, a detail that does not belong or a statement of fact that carries a threat. If a generated line does not have that small oddity, change one word until it does.

Choosing the line by genre

Genre sets the contract. A mystery line promises a question that will be answered, so it can afford to be plain. A romance line promises a meeting, so it often carries warmth and a little wit. Horror lines work best when the ordinary is slightly off, and literary lines rely on voice, so the sentence itself has to be a pleasure to read. Pick the genre first and then judge the result by whether it keeps that promise.

If you are writing between genres, pick the line from the one you want the reader to expect, and let the second chapter change the rules. Starting with a mystery line and turning toward the fantastic works better than the reverse.

From a first line to a first page

Treat the line as a seed, not a finished sentence. Write the next three sentences without changing it. If they come easily, you have a voice. If you cannot decide who is speaking, change the first line until you can. Many writers find that the best opening line is the one they write last, after they know the ending, so keep a generated line as a placeholder until the draft tells you what it should say.

Finally, read the line aloud. A line that works on the page may still stumble in the mouth, and the ear is a good editor of rhythm.

Twelve example first lines

• Fantasy By the time the youngest ferryman noticed that the river froze in the middle of July, it was already too late to turn back.
• Fantasy Nobody in the walled city of the north was surprised when the dead began to send letters, except a reluctant court poet.
• Sci-fi The first thing the new surveyor learned was that nobody speaks of the sixth deck.
• Sci-fi A tired navigator was patching a hull plate with a roll of tape and a prayer when the airlock opened from the outside.
• Romance The power failed at the exact moment of the proposal, and for a week a nervous bookseller told no one.
• Romance Everyone agreed that the best proposals are the ones nobody sees coming, but only a lonely florist understood why.
• Mystery Nobody had told the quiet night porter that the first lie is always the best clue.
• Mystery Until the body was found in the one room that was locked from the inside, a careful coroner had never had any reason to leave the quiet street.
• Horror On the day the church bell rang thirteen times, the new caretaker was lighting a candle against the dark.
• Horror The only babysitter had a name in their mouth that did not belong to anyone they knew, and that was the beginning of the trouble.
• Literary The grandmother's house was sold at auction, and for a week a retired judge told no one.
• Literary Nobody in the village was surprised when the bus stopped running at the end of the village, except a famous midwife.