The First Sentence of your Book

I once read that the first sentence of a book is powerful. Yes the cover and blurb are what pulls the reader in to buy the book, but the first sentence is what first grabs on and doesn't let go. It should set the stage, get the reader ready to go, let them know "This is how it is, and this is how it's going to continue to be." Hopefully, that message will be that the story is going to be awesome.



Sorry to sound so poetic. Bear with me here.

So, here are some first sentences from books I own:

I'd been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar.

The day I died started out bad and got worse in a hurry.

I've never given much thought to how I would die.

I never used to keep close track of the phases of the moon.

It rained toads the day the White Council came to town.

The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault.

Blood leaves no stain on a Warden's grey cloak.

Life is hard, dying is easy.

Mommy forgot to warn the babysitter about the basement.

There is one mirror in my house.

Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse, I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker.

Ash fell from the sky.

I was sitting at the edge of the clearing, trying not to stare at the body on the ground in front of me.

The funny thing about facing imminent death is that it really snaps everything else into perspective.

The sky was the color of cat vomit.

Part of the problem is that I can't keep my mouth shut.

Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world.

She discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house.

I once believed that life was a gift.

Now that I found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.

My mother used to tell me about the ocean.


Poetic, funny, ominous. All of them say one thing: Something interesting is about to happen. I have taken this lesson about first sentences to heart with my own writing:

A werewolf, a vampire, and a witch all walked into a bar.

This was, literally, the first thing that gave birth to the entire story of Dusted. The phrase had popped into my head when I was thinking about all the paranormal novels cropping up recently. From that point on, Dusted formed from a spark to an idea to a wholly-realized story. It was a perfect first sentence, too. It set up that the story was going to be paranormal, but one that didn't take itself too seriously at times.

Here are more examples of my own:

The house was on fire.

There was something empty about the old man's eyes.

Fourteen years old and her life had come to an end.

Something was moving.

Werewolves growl, vampires hiss, and witches curse.

Some are rather plain, some launch right in, some may change before you see the rest in its completed form, and others won't ever see the light of day.

Still, first sentences are the first step into a long, dedicated journey, whether you're reading it or writing it.