This one is pretty simple:
Write an opening sentence.
Post it in the comments below.
Any genre will do, really, though versatility has value.
The sentence should be on the shorter side. Let’s say, mmm, no more than 25 words. Some things to avoid, since sometimes folks fall into these traps: avoid blood, death, dead people, kids being hurt, and so forth. Think original. Conceive of a sentence that, when crafted right, is a strong hook. The kind that makes people want to read further. It makes them want to know more. Compelling and maddening in equal measure.
By next Friday, I will pick between five and ten I really like, and I’ll pop them into next week’s challenge, and you guys can choose one of those I pick to serve as the opening sentence to a new piece of flash fiction.
Today, no story necessary, though.
Just an opening line.
Due by next Friday, 2/26, noon EST.
Stefan says:
He hands me a small pistol and nods, as if that’s just a thing we do.
February 19, 2016 — 2:03 PM
SC Rose says:
I love this! It’s intriguing and has humor, all in one little sentence.
February 19, 2016 — 2:22 PM
T Hammond says:
Love it
February 19, 2016 — 4:36 PM
Catastrophe Jones (@CatJones) says:
I can’t tell if this is humorous or nervous — either way, I like it.
February 25, 2016 — 3:32 PM
Diedra Black says:
Getting into the program was the easy part; it was getting out that would take every skill she possessed.
February 19, 2016 — 2:06 PM
SC Rose says:
Interesting! I like it! It holds your attention and makes you want to know more!
February 19, 2016 — 2:36 PM
Matthew Stott says:
That Wednesday the night arrived suddenly and then refused to leave.
February 19, 2016 — 2:06 PM
Diedra Black says:
I like it. =)
February 19, 2016 — 2:11 PM
Glen Donaldson says:
They don’t call it hump day for nothing.
February 19, 2016 — 5:13 PM
roblaman says:
I knew I was being a prick but I neither cared nor could I do much about it.
February 19, 2016 — 2:07 PM
boundbeautifunk says:
This is my kind of sentence. 🙂
February 19, 2016 — 2:45 PM
roblaman says:
I just read Cussing the Cows and that is fantastic!
February 19, 2016 — 3:55 PM
boundbeautifunk says:
Thank you!
Despite hitting me in the mouth with poo-covered tails a few times a week, they’re the light of my life. Working with them provides an endless source of inspiration (and some frustration).
February 19, 2016 — 4:07 PM
csm2267 says:
The woman slid into the seat across the table from me and said, “I know your secret. If you don’t help me, I’ll tell the world.”
February 19, 2016 — 2:08 PM
Newt Johnson says:
The barbecue joint sat on the cemetery’s edge, smoking up the tombstones with hickory soot and selling lots of earthquake cake along with the barbecue.
February 19, 2016 — 2:10 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
She could tell by the way he smiled that he hadn’t seen death before.
February 19, 2016 — 2:11 PM
Raul Stern says:
Smile? Nice!
February 19, 2016 — 2:13 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Whoops. There goes the opening line I’ve been waiting for AGES to post. Sooo, how about…
“It was quarter to three in the afternoon, and I still hadn’t found my underpants.”
February 19, 2016 — 2:16 PM
gallifreyan1218 says:
I stinkin’ love this one.
February 19, 2016 — 2:45 PM
dianadiehl1 says:
You got my attention!
February 19, 2016 — 4:21 PM
Sophie Giroir says:
This is actually harder than it sounds. Haha. Here’s mine.
‘Two days in the screaming storm, and the silence that followed was a mournful song.’
February 19, 2016 — 2:12 PM
moteridgerider says:
Lots of alliteration in that one. I like alliteration.
February 19, 2016 — 4:57 PM
Diedra Black says:
Lol. It seems the tendency to evoke “death” and the topics hovering around it was harder to avoid than Chuck thought.
February 19, 2016 — 2:13 PM
Mustang55 says:
Following in his mother’s footsteps, Eli Bolt was sure to become the greatest grocery market manager of all time.
February 19, 2016 — 2:17 PM
SC Rose says:
I just LOVE this opening line! I would totally keep reading.
February 19, 2016 — 2:25 PM
mannixk says:
I second that.
February 19, 2016 — 2:45 PM
boundbeautifunk says:
Third it, too.
February 19, 2016 — 5:40 PM
westsail374 says:
Smoky lanterns lit the dying Colonel’s wasted face as he pulled his remaining son close and whispered into his remaining ear, “Fuckin’ Barstow betrayed us.”
February 19, 2016 — 2:19 PM
StarNinja says:
Yeah! Fucking Barstow right?
February 21, 2016 — 12:21 PM
Beth says:
Okay. I’ll play. From one of my WIP, a spaceopera:
He sat at a corner table in the filthy, and loud spaceport bar.
February 19, 2016 — 2:19 PM
SC Rose says:
“What ever happened to Isaac Moore?” a young lady asked.
February 19, 2016 — 2:20 PM
Diedra Black says:
Oh, I like starting with dialogue. Nice.
February 19, 2016 — 2:22 PM
Glen Donaldson says:
Last I heard, after doing night shifts at 7-11 ‘Izzy’, as he liked to be known, went on some years later to become an investment banker.
February 19, 2016 — 5:20 PM
StarNinja says:
“Izzy Moore?”
“I don’t know, is he?” his friend replied.
*Ba-dum tish!*
February 21, 2016 — 12:22 PM
Susan K. Swords says:
He became a vegan because the girl he fell in love never ate meat or dairy, but it didn’t pay off until the day a cow up and thanked him for it, out loud.
February 19, 2016 — 2:21 PM
boundbeautifunk says:
YES. YES. YES. YES. YES.
Talking cows are where it’s at.
And I say that not because my husband and I give our cows dialogues during morning milking or anything like that……….. Nope. Not in this barn.
February 19, 2016 — 2:49 PM
Josh Gearing says:
The copper wires of Franklin’s beard quivered; a storm was brewing.
February 19, 2016 — 2:22 PM
Susan K. Swords says:
Nice! Very intriguing and different.
February 19, 2016 — 3:43 PM
Leah Mueller says:
It’s best not to call a guy for a date if you meet at a dive bar, especially after he bites your foot while you’re singing karaoke.
February 19, 2016 — 2:23 PM
boundbeautifunk says:
“The bra was too tight in the band and the straps were too loose, but I was a man with few options.”
February 19, 2016 — 2:25 PM
Susan K. Swords says:
I really like this!
February 19, 2016 — 2:26 PM
gallifreyan1218 says:
LOVE THIS ONE!
February 19, 2016 — 2:44 PM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Favourited! *adds a shiny blue star*
February 19, 2016 — 2:52 PM
AK Drees (@profdrees) says:
Wonderful!
February 19, 2016 — 3:22 PM
dianadiehl1 says:
Yup, yank your readers around by their pre-suppositions.
February 19, 2016 — 4:23 PM
T Hammond says:
snicker, snort… I like it
February 19, 2016 — 4:40 PM
curleyqueue says:
Adding my like! Distinctive voice right out the gate.
February 19, 2016 — 8:13 PM
annhowes says:
“Have you ever seen anything like this before?” Charlie asked, nudging the gellatinous blob with the tip of his steel-toed boot.
February 19, 2016 — 2:25 PM
dianadiehl1 says:
Nice. I’m already learning about the main character while wondering what is going on.
February 19, 2016 — 4:24 PM
annhowes says:
Thanks. This is my first time. 🙂
February 19, 2016 — 5:01 PM
boundbeautifunk says:
Great hook. I keep thinking about it hours later.
February 19, 2016 — 9:18 PM
Xio Axelrod (@XioAxelrod) says:
Well, now, that was funcomfortable.
February 19, 2016 — 2:26 PM
gallifreyan1218 says:
I’m totally stealing that portmanteau. 😀
February 19, 2016 — 2:47 PM
Christy S. says:
The leaf that would herald a change greater than just a season clung stubbornly to the desolate birch.
February 19, 2016 — 2:31 PM
moteridgerider says:
Tasty one. This would suit a host of different genres.
February 19, 2016 — 4:59 PM
Glen Donaldson says:
This has got ‘timeless classic’ written all over it.
February 19, 2016 — 5:28 PM
Travis Hall says:
The night the Sister’s Three rode into town with the fall carnival, the people of Kingdom Falls dreamed of fire.
February 19, 2016 — 2:31 PM
Michael E. Henderson says:
Not bad, except you may want to consider whether there should be an apostrophe in Sisters.
February 19, 2016 — 2:42 PM
Travis Hall says:
I have. In my story, the traveling carnival is named after Sister Clara, commonly called, “Sister’s Carnival.”
February 19, 2016 — 4:15 PM
Michael E. Henderson says:
Not bad, except you may want to consider whether there should be an apostrophe in Sisters.
February 19, 2016 — 2:39 PM
gallifreyan1218 says:
If I’d known this was how today would end, I wouldn’t have wasted time picking up that dry-cleaning this morning.
February 19, 2016 — 2:40 PM
Matthew X. Gomez says:
I haven’t seen my brother in five years, so I’m surprised to find him knocking on my door at three in the morning.
February 19, 2016 — 2:41 PM
Michael E. Henderson says:
Between the dog snoring and the his wife’s nose whistle, Johnny couldn’t sleep.
February 19, 2016 — 2:41 PM
T. Lloyd Reilly says:
Who would have thought that buying a Big Mac would cause the end of all time?
February 19, 2016 — 2:45 PM
dianadiehl1 says:
Okay, I’m hooked.
February 19, 2016 — 4:25 PM
StarNinja says:
Ba da ba ba baaaaaaa, I’m luvin i- *TIME EXPLOSION*
February 24, 2016 — 12:42 AM
Jennifer Gorman says:
If there is a sound more obnoxious than an alarm clock buzzer, Jocelyn hadn’t heard it yet.
February 19, 2016 — 2:46 PM
Eric Pederson says:
There were probably three ways we could have gone about it, but we tried the one, and we will never know.
February 19, 2016 — 2:51 PM
Kat A. says:
I woke in the arms of an angel. Romantic as it sounded, I was fairly certain I was going to die, considering the angel in question was six feet tall and holding a sword to my throat.
February 19, 2016 — 2:52 PM
PD says:
I like this one a lot.
February 19, 2016 — 10:08 PM
kirajessup says:
The emerald ring was pretty enough, but the man offering it wasn’t.
February 19, 2016 — 2:53 PM
boundbeautifunk says:
Intriguing!
February 19, 2016 — 5:43 PM
Tess Lecuyer says:
When the wiry bald old man in the powder blue shorts and black knee socks had finished hand washing the top of the fire escape , he filled a fresh bucket, suds wafting in the breeze, and started in on the chimney with a big sponge.
February 19, 2016 — 2:56 PM
Glen Donaldson says:
This one demands inclusion in the opening line Hall of Fame.
February 19, 2016 — 5:34 PM
StarNinja says:
“‘Ey look! Old man Johnson finks e’s a chimbley sweep again!”
Great one, Tess Lecuyer. There’s a story just waiting to be told here.
February 21, 2016 — 12:29 PM
Charles Junior says:
Yesterday at the restaurant, I found out that Lucifer prefers to go by “Lou”, and for the past two hundred and fifty seven years that he’s been going there he has always ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwhich with chile peppers, strawberry milk for himself, and a slice of vanilla cheese cake for Dimitri the Hell Beast.
February 19, 2016 — 3:00 PM
alohadudenyc says:
Her foot crunched the glass on the ground while she stared at the hole where the window used to be.
February 19, 2016 — 3:02 PM
BluFenix (@eBluFenix) says:
My only thought as the front door erupted in splinters, smoke, and flame was “I wish she hadn’t lied.”
February 19, 2016 — 3:03 PM
Eric Pederson says:
The man standing at the fulcrum of his argument paused for dramatic effect, as we waited with rapt attention for words that would never come.
February 19, 2016 — 3:04 PM
Diedra Black says:
Nice.
February 19, 2016 — 3:09 PM
StarNinja says:
Poetic, even.
February 21, 2016 — 12:32 PM
Mark Budman says:
How much do you pay your writers? Someone who railed against the Huffington Post’s policy must pay.
February 19, 2016 — 3:06 PM
John Kilgallon says:
“Woowhoooooop,” carried on the night wind making Jase snap open his eyes, trying to focus on the blue nylon tent wall.
February 19, 2016 — 3:08 PM
Justin Gustainis says:
For as long as I can remember, there’s been three things that scared the livin’ shit out of me: rattlesnakes, rabid dogs — and my cousin, Lloyd R. Pettigrew Jr.
February 19, 2016 — 3:09 PM
Kristen says:
Ooh, I like this one.
February 19, 2016 — 3:17 PM
AK Drees (@profdrees) says:
I’ve never met a Lloyd I liked. This is great!
February 19, 2016 — 3:20 PM
Travis Hall says:
This displays a very strong sense of voice. Good job.
February 19, 2016 — 4:09 PM
dianadiehl1 says:
I definitely want to hear more about Lloyd and your protagonist.
February 19, 2016 — 4:27 PM
T Hammond says:
Excellent– love the name
February 19, 2016 — 4:43 PM
mannixk says:
Nice!
February 22, 2016 — 2:28 PM
underastarlitsky says:
Do you ever feel you are more than just one person? That someone, or something, else lurks inside you, like a dormant creature?
February 19, 2016 — 3:15 PM
Kristen says:
It was all because of the goddamned duck.
February 19, 2016 — 3:16 PM
Tamra Hart says:
I love this. I definitely want to know what happened.
February 19, 2016 — 5:42 PM
Mallory Parker says:
It all started with a cartridge in a pear tree.
February 19, 2016 — 3:17 PM
Glen Donaldson says:
Lovin’it.
February 19, 2016 — 5:37 PM
Susan K. Swords says:
I like this a lot. Very clever play on words!
February 20, 2016 — 9:45 AM
AK Drees (@profdrees) says:
Along with the scent of Earl Grey tea and the texture of mayonnaise, mirrors made Rachel nervous.
February 19, 2016 — 3:18 PM
curleyqueue says:
This is weird enough to grab me!
February 19, 2016 — 8:15 PM
StarNinja says:
Ooo how whimsical! I must know more!
February 21, 2016 — 12:34 PM
Ken says:
Bruce glanced toward the window where dark skies peeked in along the edges of the blinds and didn’t know whether it was late in the evening or early in the morning.
February 19, 2016 — 3:19 PM
StarNinja says:
That tends to happen when you’re Batman. Oh wait, wrong Bruce.
February 21, 2016 — 12:35 PM
Eric Pederson says:
Smoke rose from the chimney and lost itself in the same clouds the sun hid behind, but I did not regret one thing.
February 19, 2016 — 3:19 PM
Eric Pederson says:
[I might replace “I” with: he, she, the alien, or a description of a person]
“Smoke rose from the chimney and lost itself in the same clouds the sun hid behind, but the blonde with the shotgun did not regret one thing.”
Fun to read and share these
February 19, 2016 — 3:37 PM
kathleea says:
I glance down at the headline of the flyer Gran shoves into my hand before I put my suitcase down: VAMPIRE PASTRY CHEFS WANTED.
February 19, 2016 — 3:20 PM
Susan K. Swords says:
I like this a lot! Grabs your attention right away because it’s different and has hints of humor.
February 20, 2016 — 9:42 AM
Glen Donaldson says:
Vampire facials anyone?
February 20, 2016 — 7:56 PM
StarNinja says:
That’s the title of my next Erotica novel!
February 21, 2016 — 12:36 PM
StarNinja says:
I like this because whether the protagonist is a vampire or not completely changes everything!
February 21, 2016 — 12:38 PM
Matthew (@ThewTheSlightly) says:
The manticore’s name was Jim Tinytooth, and he wouldn’t let anyone into the bakery.
February 19, 2016 — 3:21 PM
Drew Taylor (@drewteesfiction) says:
Felix heard the three kittens first.
February 19, 2016 — 3:23 PM
todddillard says:
The morning’s forecast was for a 10% chance of villainous activity, proving once again the news never gets it right.
February 19, 2016 — 3:24 PM
dianadiehl1 says:
Where will this one go?
February 19, 2016 — 4:27 PM
Write Your Wrongs says:
It’s not the flashing red light that bothers me.
February 19, 2016 — 3:25 PM
the story hive says:
this could go very wrong, love it!
February 22, 2016 — 3:04 PM
hollyabbie says:
Tuck and roll doesn’t happen when you’re tossed out of a speeding car.
February 19, 2016 — 3:26 PM
Write Your Wrongs says:
Nice!
February 19, 2016 — 3:31 PM
Glen Donaldson says:
Does in the movies!
February 19, 2016 — 5:40 PM
the story hive says:
good one!
February 22, 2016 — 3:04 PM