That classic challenge is back:
Do not write a story.
Nope. Mm-mm, don’t do it.
Instead:
Write only an opening sentence.
Not two sentences. Not three. One. Good. Sentence.
Drop the opening sentence in the comments below, and then next week we will make use of some of those sentences for the next challenge. You’ve got one week — due by next Friday, the 17th, noon EST. Get cracking, word-herders.
Selfmanic says:
She tracked him out of the corner of one eye, she couldn’t wait to see him bleed.
April 10, 2015 — 12:01 PM
Terri-Lynne DeFino says:
She took his head down from the shelf.
April 10, 2015 — 12:05 PM
jjtoner says:
My third like.
April 17, 2015 — 12:47 PM
kimberleycooperblog says:
I’ve got something in my bag which could be very precious to you.
April 10, 2015 — 12:10 PM
Gideon. says:
“Hnnngh grrhh ahhngghh,” he gurgled.
April 10, 2015 — 12:11 PM
Kalen says:
I really like this one…it could go in so many different directions.
April 10, 2015 — 3:45 PM
Gideon. says:
Yes! I initially thought about a poor man drowning but then realized it could very well be a rich man drowning. Or a sod at the dentist trying to have a conversation. Or an ogre trying its pudgy hand at spoken English literature. The possibilities are endless.
April 12, 2015 — 12:06 PM
Kathy says:
My first thought had him drowning in his own blood…
April 12, 2015 — 2:55 PM
warjna says:
Waking up hung over after a monumental binge on pangalactic gargle-blasters!
April 15, 2015 — 4:44 AM
Catkins says:
This made me laugh. It’s got good personality.
April 11, 2015 — 7:30 AM
Gideon. says:
Thank you! I kind of just came up with it at random, but then I realized it was really open ended and slightly unexpected.
April 12, 2015 — 12:05 PM
Periodically Demented says:
A nine letter word for constipation is “Nnnnnnnnn!”
April 11, 2015 — 8:37 AM
Gideon. says:
Now explain the gurgling. Actually, I’d almost rather not know.
April 12, 2015 — 12:04 PM
Periodically Demented says:
It’s the body’s way of saying “Evacuate! Explosion imminent!”
April 12, 2015 — 12:09 PM
lisacle says:
Waking up next to a dead man will ruin your entire day.
April 10, 2015 — 12:13 PM
Cátia says:
Love it
April 10, 2015 — 2:18 PM
lisaprose says:
ahhhh I love this dark humor. its really true. on the scale of day ruining this ranks pretty high.
April 10, 2015 — 11:46 PM
jjtoner says:
Like (4).
April 17, 2015 — 12:48 PM
Emmalee Sky says:
They always said Mama was crazy, but they never knew how much.
April 10, 2015 — 12:13 PM
Cátia says:
i like it!
April 10, 2015 — 2:19 PM
scratchingcat says:
That pink easter bunny never had a chance.
April 10, 2015 — 12:14 PM
Theresa says:
I like this! It’s very interesting straight off the bat. I really want to know more about what the pink easter bunny was up to.
April 10, 2015 — 6:02 PM
Joe Turner says:
“God built the earth in seven days, but I plan to tear it down in five”
April 10, 2015 — 12:14 PM
Susan K. Swords says:
I like this. I already want to know more about this character.
April 10, 2015 — 1:33 PM
cmscholz222 says:
I like this too. Would it have more impact if you dropped the “but”?
April 10, 2015 — 2:10 PM
Joe Turner says:
Agreed!
April 10, 2015 — 2:28 PM
R. M. Webb says:
Double agreed!
April 10, 2015 — 2:42 PM
warjna says:
But that would make it two sentences, thus violating the accords!
April 10, 2015 — 4:48 PM
cmscholz222 says:
Nah, you can leave the comma in there and still have the one sentence.
April 11, 2015 — 5:08 PM
warjna says:
Mmm, if you’re going to leave it as one sentence, I think it ought to be a semi-colon. 😉
April 15, 2015 — 4:46 AM
warjna says:
Okay, fine. Five days late and a synapse short.
April 15, 2015 — 4:47 AM
Someone says:
Love it!
April 10, 2015 — 4:47 PM
Joe Turner says:
How about now:
“God built the earth in seven days; I plan to tear it down in five”
Still one sentence, grammatically correct (I think – Chuck??), and it sounds better/is more concise.
April 10, 2015 — 5:09 PM
devsmess says:
Poignant and leaves me curious. Awesome.
April 12, 2015 — 12:27 PM
mannixk says:
On the morning of her thirteenth birthday, the whites of her eyes turned inky black.
April 10, 2015 — 12:15 PM
cmscholz222 says:
Go forth and multiply (your word count). Liking this one.
April 10, 2015 — 2:08 PM
ElctrcRngr says:
Impressive, most impressive. Just like the last time we did this exercise
April 11, 2015 — 4:54 AM
Jess West says:
Ooh, curious …
April 12, 2015 — 1:51 PM
Free Jack Klugman says:
There’s nothing in the world that feels quite the same between your teeth as human skin.
April 10, 2015 — 12:20 PM
MsShonnerz says:
My first thought was, “Is this BDSM or cannibalism?”
April 10, 2015 — 1:35 PM
mannixk says:
Eeeew…creepy. And that’s a good thing.
April 11, 2015 — 10:23 AM
thesexiestwriter says:
Trey sat under a bush in the cold December drizzle, watching the street and rubbing the limp dog that lay twitching in his lap.
April 10, 2015 — 12:21 PM
devsmess says:
Despite my normal aversion to starting with the weather, this totally creeped me out and worked and now I’d like to know more.
April 12, 2015 — 12:29 PM
ElctrcRngr says:
I’ll give you more. I think I’ll try to take this somewhere, with the author’s blessing, of course.
April 17, 2015 — 5:01 PM
thesexiestwriter says:
sure, it’s the first line to the, what, twentieth draft of a novel? I lost count. Give it hell!
April 19, 2015 — 3:43 PM
J. Fryer says:
Dawn had gone to Callowhill Bridge to find graffiti, and not dragons.
April 10, 2015 — 12:22 PM
Someone says:
That’s awesome! I love it! Maybe you should just consider dropping the “and”. 🙂
April 10, 2015 — 4:49 PM
J. Fryer says:
Thank you. And yes, you’re right, I was weighing whether or not to drop the ‘and.’ It’d flow better, I think 🙂
April 14, 2015 — 2:47 PM
Lina says:
He never thought his love for the extraordinary will take his life.
April 10, 2015 — 12:23 PM
Alice E Keyes says:
I’m going to use this sentence. I editing it to have it all be in past tense – He never thought his love for the extraordinary would take his life.
April 20, 2015 — 11:14 AM
Deanmcsmith says:
Sarah Bannerman preferred being dead to being married, but it was a close run thing.
April 10, 2015 — 12:27 PM
lisaprose says:
poor, poor, Sarah Bannerman!! please tell me she wins in the end.
April 10, 2015 — 11:47 PM
Deanmcsmith says:
I honestly don’t know
April 11, 2015 — 3:50 AM
Stephanie S. says:
“Oh, shit.”
April 10, 2015 — 12:28 PM
Cátia says:
hahaha awesome
April 10, 2015 — 2:21 PM
john freeter says:
Classic
April 10, 2015 — 3:07 PM
Misty Provencher says:
This dead guy, his name was Aftermath Brad and I’m not supposed to know that.
April 10, 2015 — 12:29 PM
warjna says:
Okay, this one I want to know more about! I like the way the character speaks.
April 10, 2015 — 4:50 PM
katemcone says:
Please write more?! I need to meet Aftermath Brad. *Great* name!
April 15, 2015 — 4:03 PM
Mir says:
Nabbing this one for the follow-up challenge. It’s glorious.
April 19, 2015 — 11:54 AM
Kathlyn Egbert says:
Angels paced in Heaven, unsure of their tidings.
April 10, 2015 — 12:32 PM
Cátia says:
I actually like this!
April 10, 2015 — 2:21 PM
Beth Turnage says:
Beautiful!
April 11, 2015 — 9:49 AM
cmscholz222 says:
After reading through these again, I’ve found this to be one of the most intriguing lines. I hope I get to write on this one ;] Instead of tidings I might use something else but that ‘s just me. I kind of like “Angels paced in Heaven unsure.”
April 16, 2015 — 7:51 PM
Seylor says:
It all started the day I found a live octopus in my shed.
April 10, 2015 — 12:36 PM
glenavailable says:
Any chance of changing the ‘shed’ to ‘head’?
April 10, 2015 — 5:50 PM
deb says:
I swear, the first time I read this I thought it said “bed”.
April 10, 2015 — 8:41 PM
Seylor says:
Sounds even better!
April 18, 2015 — 2:38 AM
jjtoner says:
…in my soup?
April 17, 2015 — 12:50 PM
Curtis Edmonds (@Curtis_Edmonds) says:
To a stationary observer, the USS Susquehanna would resemble nothing so much as an overgrown, mile-long snowball, hurtling silently past at one tenth of the speed of light.
April 10, 2015 — 12:37 PM
devsmess says:
I like this.
April 12, 2015 — 12:30 PM
Susan K. Swords says:
Free to good home: one pre-owned left hand – still attached – which is disengaged from motor cortex control and has a mind of its own.
April 10, 2015 — 12:50 PM
lisaprose says:
haha would be interested to see both: who responds to this ad and what person put it out.
April 10, 2015 — 11:49 PM
Susan K. Swords says:
Thanks! That’s some challenging character development. Who would want an extra hand, and what would they do with it? Maybe a mate for Thing from The Addams Family?
April 12, 2015 — 4:07 PM
Gideon. says:
That would be a really cool story actually. It would just be in the format of emails going back and forth between the provider of goods and the interested party. Haggling, among other things, could ensue.
April 12, 2015 — 12:18 PM
Susan K. Swords says:
Great suggestion. It would just about fill out a short story.
April 12, 2015 — 4:07 PM
shaunaclinning says:
I can’t open my legs.
April 10, 2015 — 12:54 PM
Periodically Demented says:
The possibilities are endless.
April 11, 2015 — 12:32 AM
devsmess says:
Oh, god. Exactly. The possibilities ARE endless… and enticing…
April 12, 2015 — 12:31 PM
Savvy Stories by Dan Alatorre says:
I didn’t wash my hands before using the bathroom, even though I had been chopping jalapeno peppers; a quick rinse will do, I thought.
April 10, 2015 — 12:57 PM
Catkins says:
I actually laughed out loud
April 11, 2015 — 7:32 AM
mannixk says:
A guy I worked with in a pizza shop totally did this. True story.
April 11, 2015 — 10:26 AM
deb says:
They were still laughing and cruised only a few blocks when they heard a blast and the great sloping windshield of the Olds shattered and caved in on them.
April 10, 2015 — 1:01 PM
Donald says:
Rose sighed as she broke through the surface the lake, the water glistening off her hirsute chest.
April 10, 2015 — 1:05 PM
warjna says:
Her? Hirsute?! What the!
April 10, 2015 — 4:52 PM
lisaprose says:
I’m really hoping this is a superhero story. this really does happen and these women need more role models!!
April 10, 2015 — 11:52 PM
Kellie says:
I brush pieces of earth from Michael’s hair, his body buried shallow enough that an animal of some kind, a wolf or coyote or cougar, clawed into the half frozen dirt to eat his stomach contents.
April 10, 2015 — 1:08 PM
cmscholz222 says:
I am definitely interested in learning more about Michael’s demise. Is there a way to tighten it up? Maybe reducing the number of animals that are suspect?
April 10, 2015 — 2:16 PM
Jess West says:
I know you didn’t mean to break the parallel barrier, but now that it’s done we really need to figure out what to do with all these extra versions of everybody.
April 10, 2015 — 1:10 PM
Cátia says:
it seems like the story would be amazing
April 10, 2015 — 2:22 PM
Jess West says:
I can’t wait to find out what we’re to do with all these one-liners next week. I’ve got my eye on a couple others. 😉
April 12, 2015 — 1:53 PM
glenavailable says:
Behold! A copier that doesn’t jam!
April 10, 2015 — 5:54 PM
TooManyJens says:
Ah, but what if it does? 😉
April 17, 2015 — 7:12 PM
glenavailable says:
There will be the usual swear words plus a technical fix that shall commence with the removal of the all important metal feeder rods!
April 26, 2015 — 3:49 PM
maqhem says:
I leaned forward, coughing, spitting out blood and glass.
April 10, 2015 — 1:12 PM
Deborah Leigh says:
Shane’s feet stunk bad.
April 10, 2015 — 1:15 PM
John Matsui says:
All Joe’s dreams would come true, if he sacrificed his penis.
April 10, 2015 — 1:17 PM
Cyd says:
Fox could never turn down a dare- no matter how stupid, how idotic it could be
April 10, 2015 — 1:18 PM
cmscholz222 says:
How about:
Fox could never turn down a dare, no matter how idiotic.
April 10, 2015 — 2:27 PM
vlsperry says:
Muriel awoke covered in mucilage.
April 10, 2015 — 1:24 PM
Karin Kallmaker says:
I never believed my husband could die young, but Jenny makes it all sound so easy.
April 10, 2015 — 1:27 PM
glenavailable says:
Run Forest run!
April 10, 2015 — 6:02 PM
boozoojack says:
The old straight-legged coyote approached,blew his breath onto my face as my body lay pressed into the sand dune as I watched from the ancestral night’s broken sky.
April 10, 2015 — 1:27 PM
Kristi S. Simpson says:
The entrance to the cave was impossible to see, but he could feel it.
April 10, 2015 — 1:27 PM
writerchick says:
Nice!
April 12, 2015 — 8:14 PM
cmscholz222 says:
We burned him in a mighty fire using freshly mixed dish detergent and gasoline, the poor man’s napalm.
April 10, 2015 — 1:38 PM
A. A. Woods says:
The spaceship’s engine spluttered for a moment, then died.
April 10, 2015 — 1:56 PM
cmscholz222 says:
This can work well. I think you meant sputtered and not spluttered though?
April 10, 2015 — 2:26 PM
warjna says:
Maybe it’s liquid fuel? 😉
April 10, 2015 — 4:53 PM
coachhays says:
Everybody knows there is no crying in baseball, so I took my first-ever home run ball, set it gently in my mother’s still hands and dropped into the porch swing next to her balling my eyes out.
April 10, 2015 — 2:03 PM
R. M. Webb says:
My day went from zero to what the fuck with one glance towards the back of the subway station.
April 10, 2015 — 2:10 PM
R. M. Webb says:
Ooooh! Ooooh! Can I edit? I hit reply too quickly…
My day went from zero to what the fuck with one glance over my shoulder.
April 10, 2015 — 2:14 PM
MsShonnerz says:
I like it!
April 10, 2015 — 3:56 PM
warjna says:
I’m ready to read!
April 10, 2015 — 4:54 PM
cmscholz222 says:
Liking this one as well. I agree with Webb, shorter works better here for impact. Love the zero to what the fuck.
April 10, 2015 — 2:24 PM
Michelle English says:
He just jumped out the window, like it was nothing! Did he expect me to do the same?
April 10, 2015 — 2:14 PM
James says:
It was raining on Mars.
April 10, 2015 — 2:21 PM
blewnose says:
Autumn leaves and dead twigs crunched under his feet and a coyote’s yap echoed in the fog.
April 10, 2015 — 2:30 PM
David Koehn says:
Ichabod had whiskey eyes no matter the light upon him.
April 10, 2015 — 2:35 PM
curleyqueue says:
Chose this for my story! So fun!
April 21, 2015 — 12:55 PM
Jenny Chou says:
“Just have lots and lots of confidence,” Felix whispered as I turned the dial on my father’s safe.
April 10, 2015 — 2:35 PM
Rick Cook Jr says:
The city fell in the space of a single breath.
April 10, 2015 — 2:38 PM
warjna says:
Ooh!
April 10, 2015 — 4:55 PM
warjna says:
Yes. I keep coming back to this one. I want to read it!
April 15, 2015 — 4:51 AM
jemmaprophet says:
The sun never set on the Majestic Empire of Ki, and, as curses went, “may you never see night” was marvelously effective.
April 10, 2015 — 2:40 PM
warjna says:
I LIKE this!
April 10, 2015 — 4:56 PM
jemmaprophet says:
Thank you! 🙂
April 21, 2015 — 12:21 AM
Andrew T says:
I slipped on my brain again this morning.
April 10, 2015 — 2:48 PM
john freeter says:
I followed the nice man to his basement.
April 10, 2015 — 2:51 PM
lisacle says:
Mind if I tag in on this one? There’s a story that’s been itching the back of my brain for years now, and this is the perfect opening line for it.
April 17, 2015 — 12:14 PM
john freeter says:
Sure! Can’t wait to read it. 🙂
April 17, 2015 — 2:57 PM
lisacle says:
Here you go! It’s NSFW. http://wp.me/p1Tyuy-bd
April 22, 2015 — 3:33 PM
Josh Beverly says:
I hate when my wife’s snoring wakes me, especially since she’s been dead for two years.
April 10, 2015 — 2:54 PM
writerchick says:
Still giggling.
April 12, 2015 — 8:15 PM
jjtoner says:
I like this one (lost count).
April 17, 2015 — 12:56 PM
mbawden2014 says:
When the screaming and the crying and the breaking bones stopped, there was a kind of unexpected irritation about being dead.
April 10, 2015 — 3:08 PM
lpstribling says:
The star-speckled ocean above my canoe that morning glittered, and I read it as the world bidding me farewell. https://lpstribling.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/ripple-effect/
April 10, 2015 — 3:10 PM