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.
Effy J. Roan says:
My faith in the possibility of the impossible died a little more with each passing year.
April 12, 2015 — 11:01 AM
Andrew Hickey says:
(You can’t really expect us to come up with only one, can you?)
The journey between the walls of Ilyria and the gates of Bastandion is over five thousand miles, yet I had to make it on my own.
The baby wouldn’t stop screaming, so I ate him.
The day the robots came, I was playing baseball in the back garden with my kid sister.
It’s not every day you open the door to find your own future self knocking; in my case, it’s only on Wednesdays.
Thomas Edwards walked through his front door, closed it behind himself, and hung his head up on the hanger in the hall.
The snakes were moving again.
If there was one thing he hated more than anything else, Rodrigo would reflect later, it was women who smoked.
It took Jane a moment to realise what was unusual about the letter, but then she noticed that the postmark was the next day.
Phil had read that there were three thousand ways to kill a man; he only knew four hundred himself, but he was still an apprentice.
It was on the ninetieth day of the rains that I noticed something odd.
“Miaow,” said the dog.
April 12, 2015 — 11:47 AM
Someone says:
The last one is brilliant :’)
April 13, 2015 — 8:45 AM
StarNinja says:
That second one is a story all on it’s own. Not sure how one could expand on it. “Then the police showed up” maybe? Perhaps? What an opening line!
April 14, 2015 — 1:04 PM
glenavailable says:
The envelope please.. and the award goes to ‘The Letter’.
April 15, 2015 — 4:12 AM
Periodically Demented says:
“Well, that’s bleeding a lot more than I thought it would.”
April 12, 2015 — 12:21 PM
devsmess says:
Haha! Laughed out loud…
April 12, 2015 — 12:35 PM
Jess West says:
ha! Oh, I like this.
April 12, 2015 — 1:50 PM
MsShonnerz says:
Glad to know I’m not the only person who thought this was funny. 🙂
April 13, 2015 — 2:50 PM
Brian Guthrie says:
I supposed this all started with paper: real paper.
April 12, 2015 — 12:53 PM
Periodically Demented says:
“I TOLD you if you clicked on that link you’d burst into flames.”
April 12, 2015 — 12:59 PM
Brenna Faye says:
Lol! That’s great!
April 13, 2015 — 1:25 PM
glenavailable says:
I thought clicking on links that then empty your bank account was bad but you’re right, flames will beat that every time.
April 15, 2015 — 5:01 AM
anonymous says:
He opened the door and stared out at the vast blackness of space before him.
(Run-on sentence, probably?)
April 12, 2015 — 1:17 PM
Tori says:
The stains from dragon vomit almost never came out, and being covered in it while standing in a pile of manure, Donovan should have known better than to think the day couldn’t get any worse.
April 12, 2015 — 1:24 PM
Periodically Demented says:
What a beauty! Too good for a short; there’s a novel or series in this. Very nicely done.
April 14, 2015 — 12:18 AM
Periodically Demented says:
https://p33d33.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/how-to-annoy-your-human-a-chuck-wendig-challenge-3/
Thank you, Tori. That was fun.
April 14, 2015 — 7:22 AM
Tori says:
Glad you liked it. Nice story! Opening lines happens to be one of the areas I do well.
April 16, 2015 — 10:12 AM
Mir says:
Granted once more the benefit of the doubt, Jirix’s apprentice had set the attic on fire again.
April 12, 2015 — 1:38 PM
cleefrost says:
Nick glared at the detour sign and drove around it onto the darkening road.
April 12, 2015 — 1:55 PM
curleyqueue says:
Mindset of main character and a little something about his/her personality in 14 words- nicely done!!
April 13, 2015 — 8:35 AM
Jeff Dwyer says:
I stood motionless, up to mis cojones in a murky soup that resembled the bitter cacao the savages drank, while creatures I was glad I could not see scrabbled past my legs.
April 12, 2015 — 2:40 PM
Brenna Faye says:
“Let go of the past,” Madeline’s mother had always warned her, “for it feeds upon us all with great appetite, and wants to live again.”
April 12, 2015 — 2:43 PM
addy says:
thats an awesome saying. well done
April 13, 2015 — 7:24 AM
Brenna Faye says:
Thank you!
April 13, 2015 — 1:24 PM
Periodically Demented says:
This. I’m thinking dragons and time travel.
April 14, 2015 — 12:21 AM
Periodically Demented says:
https://p33d33.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/madeline-a-chuck-wendig-challenge-1/
*Multiple Warnings* gooey romantic chick stuff, planetary distress, guy having to dance with girl, accidental bottom grabbing, songs ‘Let it Go’, ‘Because of You’, and ‘When the Rain Comes’ running through my head.
Thanks for the opening line, Brenna.
April 14, 2015 — 5:04 AM
Kalen Ivey says:
I just love this one…I don’t write science fiction so this opinions a world of possibilities.
April 16, 2015 — 12:27 PM
curleyqueue says:
The Forum demanded sacrifice for security, poverty for a prosperous community, and death for the chance to survive.
April 12, 2015 — 2:51 PM
Someone says:
Awesome
April 13, 2015 — 8:46 AM
Carolina Mac says:
“Hey, Buster, is that the best fucking outhouse you ever saw?”
April 12, 2015 — 3:31 PM
writerchick says:
LOL
April 12, 2015 — 8:10 PM
Josh Loomis says:
Silenced gunshots are still pretty damn loud, no matter what the movies tell you.
April 12, 2015 — 4:21 PM
karla mena says:
There’s not much you can do with a Glock in your ear.
April 12, 2015 — 4:59 PM
Andrew says:
Having armed strangers of questionable intent breaking the front door down had always been one of Vaccre’s least favourite ways to begin a new day, not least because mahogany was just so expensive now.
April 12, 2015 — 5:24 PM
karla mena says:
iwords1@blogspot.com
April 12, 2015 — 5:24 PM
karla mena says:
When I wake up, the house is too quiet, my feet stretch out seeking to untangle myself form the sheet I’ve twisted into throughout the night.
iwords1.blogspot.com
April 12, 2015 — 5:32 PM
Audra Coldiron says:
She knew what he was going to ask; trouble was, she didn’t know what she was going to say.
April 12, 2015 — 7:04 PM
devsmess says:
The darkroom was decades unused, but she found it still suitable for developing photos; and as the contours of the images darkened and formed, so did her impression of the mother she thought she knew.
April 12, 2015 — 7:29 PM
Periodically Demented says:
This is really disturbing. Hope you like horror.
April 13, 2015 — 6:45 AM
Periodically Demented says:
https://p33d33.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/zee-a-chuck-wendig-challenge-2/
*Multiple warnings* strong continuous horror, catastrophic violence, disturbing image.*
Thanks for the first sentence, devsmess.
April 14, 2015 — 5:20 AM
devsmess says:
You’re welcome. 😀
April 14, 2015 — 6:21 AM
Lisa says:
If her raspy breathing didn’t alert him to her presence in the dank closet, surely the blood seeping underneath would.
April 12, 2015 — 8:05 PM
addy says:
well now i fear for her life. it sounds perfect for the start to a thriller or slasher.
April 13, 2015 — 11:50 AM
writerchick says:
My first kiss was a story I told myself until it was true.
April 12, 2015 — 8:09 PM
curleyqueue says:
Mmmm…like how this is both poignant and full of possibility!
April 13, 2015 — 8:31 AM
Mark Gardner says:
They task us to perform duties that would scar our souls because they believe that we do not have souls.
April 12, 2015 — 11:23 PM
Ross Dittman says:
The little girl stared in wide eyed horror at the giant monster sitting at the side of her bed, why in the hell was it trying to talk to her about Taylor Swift?
April 13, 2015 — 2:41 AM
Christopher says:
On January 1, 2016, at precisely 5:15AM, Mt Fuji – along with it’s thousands of New Year’s sunrise tourists – disappeared.
April 13, 2015 — 3:32 AM
addy says:
They thought flushing me out an air lock would kill me, HA!
April 13, 2015 — 7:19 AM
sarahsinklings says:
When Ellaya Hault was deposited on the carriage walk at Tanglewood on Midsummer’s Eve, she knew nothing of its secretive inhabitants or the unsettling invitation her grandmother had received on her behalf.
April 13, 2015 — 7:19 AM
powerjacob says:
“Tim, your place is going to be robbed tonight,” said the voice on the phone.
April 13, 2015 — 8:33 AM
addy says:
congrates you freaked me out and make me feel insecure!
April 13, 2015 — 11:15 AM
Ashlynn says:
Fuck them and their fancy words—Get out…”Get out!” she wailed.
April 13, 2015 — 8:43 AM
devsmess says:
Nice. From the inside to the outside of the character… pulled me into the story in my head.
April 13, 2015 — 3:21 PM
Ashlynn says:
Thanks! 🙂
April 15, 2015 — 8:39 AM
Raven Blackburn says:
I thought I was alone when something cold gripped my arm.
April 13, 2015 — 8:53 AM
addy says:
well that sounds *puts on glasses* chilling.
well done, its a creepy way to start something.
April 13, 2015 — 11:40 AM
Raven Blackburn says:
Hehe, chilling *winks* And thank you 🙂
April 21, 2015 — 1:56 PM
Sophie says:
As he slipped through the throngs of tourists like water, Jared mused that there are some major advantages to being dead.
April 13, 2015 — 8:55 AM
Ed says:
From my cell i could see the noose fluttering in the wind, my time was fast running out.
April 13, 2015 — 9:00 AM
JR says:
– When Chairman Mao told us he had an idea, I was almost done chewing a bite of medium- rare steak.
– The actual number was 78, but the true death toll from bungee jumping could solely be blamed on the weather.
– We left the freezer door open, but only because Gerald’s hand wouldn’t fit with the rest of him, and ice cream is always better after it’s melted a little.
April 13, 2015 — 9:38 AM
devsmess says:
Haha…! I like that last one. It went from ‘oh, shit is serious’ to ‘well, ya know…’ in a second. And the voice is great.
April 13, 2015 — 3:50 PM
grapefruitzzz says:
She sent the cats out before dawn, so they could poke round the bins and infect people before breakfast.
April 13, 2015 — 11:43 AM
Diandrew says:
Love anything with cats in it. I want to know what the infection is.
April 17, 2015 — 12:57 PM
Chris says:
Give me a handful of Bulldog shit and I will open a portal to a world of terror.
April 13, 2015 — 3:02 PM
jwhiteaker3 says:
“Statistically speaking, it doesn’t matter if you drank the blue one first.” she said.
April 13, 2015 — 3:41 PM
Andrew T says:
Bees were the answer to her constant interruptions at the office.
April 13, 2015 — 4:41 PM
glenavailable says:
If they’re killer bees we’re talking thriller/horror.
If they’re bumble bees we’re more into the comedy line of things.
Where we goin’?
April 15, 2015 — 5:23 AM
Andrew T says:
Well, the new challenge is to pick a line from this challenge and write a story. So, where *you* goin’? 😉
April 17, 2015 — 12:14 PM
John Matsui says:
Helen thought George over-eager but then he hadn’t had sex in over 300 years.
April 13, 2015 — 5:48 PM
John Matsui says:
Life’s never quiet when you’re a mortician married to a banshee.
April 13, 2015 — 5:56 PM
John Matsui says:
She’s the world’s most thrilling date, according to all the guys who survived.
April 13, 2015 — 6:02 PM
John Matsui says:
Still four shopping days till Christmas and already nine department store Santas dead.
April 13, 2015 — 6:09 PM
Diandrew says:
Love it!
April 17, 2015 — 2:37 PM
pinklightsabre says:
He never stopped writing cursive but the characters in his text started to dip the older he got, as if leaning their ear to the ground, made thinner by the weight of time, the strain of days.
April 13, 2015 — 6:10 PM
Rebecca Douglass says:
This is beautiful.
April 13, 2015 — 8:03 PM
Dae says:
The girl was twiddling a scalpel about in her fingers, idly, as any other student deep in thought might do with a pencil.
April 13, 2015 — 7:02 PM
glenavailable says:
Beware of The Twiddler!
April 15, 2015 — 5:25 AM
Gabe K (@Auguris) says:
He was beautiful, and he knew I wanted him.
April 13, 2015 — 8:06 PM
tonijnet says:
While taking a shower that morning, the numbers embedded in John’s neck flashed red for the first time since his asshole boss installed them.
April 13, 2015 — 10:00 PM
glenavailable says:
I once had a boss who talked about doing this but never had the follow through or electronics knowledge to carry it out.
April 15, 2015 — 5:29 AM
Joanna Mueller says:
In retrospect, I suppose he didn’t have to die.
April 13, 2015 — 10:26 PM
Pamela says:
Tia stared up at the violently flashes, frozen momentarily with a fear unlike anything she had ever felt before, its metallic taste filling her mouth and sweeping away all abilities to think or reason, and she barely had time to turn onto her side before vomiting helplessly onto the dry, scratchy grass of the field.
April 13, 2015 — 11:28 PM
Pamela says:
Mia stared up at the violent flashes, frozen momentarily with a fear unlike anything she had ever felt before, its metallic taste filling her mouth and sweeping away all abilities to think or reason, and she barely had time to turn onto her side before vomiting helplessly onto the dry, scratchy grass of the field.
April 13, 2015 — 11:51 PM
divynal66 says:
The war has been over for months, they tell me, though nobody bothered to pass us that memo.
April 14, 2015 — 1:11 AM
Matthew X. Gomez says:
I ended up using this one. https://mxgomez.wordpress.com/2015/04/23/wars-end-a-chuck-wendig-challenge/
April 23, 2015 — 9:33 PM