tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post2204334392545673347..comments2023-10-29T04:09:42.109-04:00Comments on The Edit Cafe: Lasso MeJoAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16027015583205497259noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-80112887342503751422007-06-22T10:10:00.000-04:002007-06-22T10:10:00.000-04:00Other opening lines inspired me to send the openin...Other opening lines inspired me to send the opening of Calico Canyon, the recently contracted (Thank you so much, Becky) sequel to Petticoat Ranch.<BR/><BR/> >>'The Five Horseman of the Apocalypse rode in. <BR/><BR/>Late as usual." <BR/><BR/>Mary ConnealyMary Connealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09598386111251769803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-92101584492103312112007-06-21T22:03:00.000-04:002007-06-21T22:03:00.000-04:00Oops. "Long-length" not "log-length."Oops. "Long-length" not "log-length."Kristy Dykeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09513637012962943901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-30517114625306982472007-06-21T22:02:00.000-04:002007-06-21T22:02:00.000-04:00Thanks, Kathy, for your complimenting me. Apprecia...Thanks, Kathy, for your complimenting me. Appreciate it. <BR/><BR/>Great post, Becky. Makes us think, think, think. Like you said, it's important to capture the reader from the get-go.<BR/><BR/>My current log-length WIP starts this way: <BR/><BR/>"I never knew dead people wore underclothes." Sara James picked through her cousin’s lingerie drawer, grief overtaking her as she remembered the explicit instructions from the funeral director.<BR/><BR/>Would you be interested in taking a look, Becky. :) (Wink, but sincere.)Kristy Dykeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09513637012962943901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-10791216319838747432007-06-21T21:38:00.000-04:002007-06-21T21:38:00.000-04:00"Where's Papa going with that ax?"(Charlotte's Web..."Where's Papa going with that ax?"<BR/>(Charlotte's Web)<BR/><BR/>"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents."<BR/>(Little Women)<BR/><BR/>And of course, "Call me Ishmael." (Moby Dick--reading it once was quite enough for me, though)The Imaginary Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12876079816033007930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-10743278349233304232007-06-21T14:28:00.000-04:002007-06-21T14:28:00.000-04:00Ach! Lynette! You beat me to it. We must have been...Ach! Lynette! You beat me to it. We must have been writing our comments at the same time! Apparently I got the letters wrong in the word verification, so as it was rejecting mine, it popped yours in there.<BR/><BR/>What about this classic opener?<BR/><BR/>It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. <BR/>--Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities <BR/><BR/>We'd never get away with this in modern literature, but doesn't it make you want to read what the heck they're talking about?Kathy Kovach...https://www.blogger.com/profile/11699361242908284703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-23046332058649698962007-06-21T13:56:00.000-04:002007-06-21T13:56:00.000-04:00I looked up the first line of GWTW:"Scarlett O'Har...I looked up the first line of GWTW:<BR/><BR/>"Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tartleton twins were." <BR/><BR/>One of my favorite opening lines is from the BOOK "The Princess Bride" ... "The year that Buttercup was born, the most beautiful woman in the world was a French scullery maid named Annette."Lynette Sowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14744849531318234556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-36742354716092636472007-06-21T08:40:00.000-04:002007-06-21T08:40:00.000-04:00Thanks for the comments. Keep them coming.I'm sure...Thanks for the comments. Keep them coming.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure I once knew the first line of GONE WITH THE WIND, but now I can't pull it out.Beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161967996164905671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-71883928120539717342007-06-21T00:48:00.000-04:002007-06-21T00:48:00.000-04:00Actually, Becky, I really like yours! I'd definite...Actually, Becky, I really like yours! I'd definitely keep reading a book that began with *that* first line!<BR/><BR/>Jess, I'm also an Anne George fan. She was the only writer who could have me laughing out loud as I read.The Imaginary Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12876079816033007930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-8960590043706457652007-06-20T20:22:00.000-04:002007-06-20T20:22:00.000-04:00I've been accused of starting my stories out too f...I've been accused of starting my stories out too fast, but it's the only way to go to me. If I'M bored with my writing, why would I ask anyone else to read it? <BR/><BR/>My favorite was when I started a book with a mother slapping her daughter -- in public. Ouch! <BR/><BR/>Beginnings are SO important. My son heard a trivia question the other day he was sure I knew, and I did: what is the opening line of Gone With the Wind? (I'm not going to tell you if you don't know...you'll just have to look it up, tee hee.) <BR/><BR/>Thanks, Becky, for the great reminder to watch our beginnings.Midwest Farmer's Daughterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13242411573864926667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-12138954793330038862007-06-20T19:55:00.000-04:002007-06-20T19:55:00.000-04:00I love a great opening line. I try so hard to make...I love a great opening line. I try so hard to make that opening line or paragraph explode off the page that I often just don't even concern myself with it until the book is done, rewriting it many times, looking for that great first line that really hooks the reader, sets the stakes really high. In fact, I'm going to go look at all of them again and try to do it better.<BR/>I know, when I was working on my first contracted book, Golden Days, I sent it to Cathy Marie Hake to read and, you may not know how it opens, but there's an accident on a bustling Seattle street.<BR/>Cathy emailed back and -- paraphrasing-- "I want her under the wheels of that freight wagon before the end of the first page. :) Writing is a funny business, isn't it? We're a ruthless bunch on paper. LOL<BR/>Anyway, I tossed her (my heroine, not Cathy) under there on the first page, and I started the page 1/3 of the way down, too.Mary Connealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09598386111251769803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-82584686414830992992007-06-20T19:22:00.000-04:002007-06-20T19:22:00.000-04:00My favorite opening of all time is by an ABA myste...My favorite opening of all time is by an ABA mystery author who lives in and writes about my home state, Colorado.<BR/><BR/>Adrienne's tomatoes froze the same night that Arnie Dresser did.<BR/>--Manner of Death, Stephen White<BR/><BR/>I think a mystery or suspense lends itself to a good hook. It's harder when you're writing romance, or something less adventurous, but it can be done. <BR/><BR/>In my latest shipment of Heartsongs, Irene Brand begins *Broken Bow* with: <BR/><BR/>Paula Thompson had run out of options.<BR/><BR/>And Kristy Dykes starts *The Heart of the Matter* like this: <BR/><BR/>"I want everybody to pray that God will give me a mommy," little Brady said in a heart-tugging, grown-up way.<BR/><BR/>My stab at a proposal I'm preparing for HeartSong starts like this:<BR/><BR/>Ruthanne closed her eyes and listened to the humming. Such a peaceful sound in her recently rocked world. She gazed at the teddy bear faces, all reliant on her now for sustenance. <BR/><BR/>I love a good hook when I read, and that challenges me to write a good hook when I write.Kathy Kovach...https://www.blogger.com/profile/11699361242908284703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5157905786947425443.post-51743572781933223952007-06-20T18:12:00.000-04:002007-06-20T18:12:00.000-04:00I discovered the hilarious Anne George a couple of...I discovered the hilarious Anne George a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, she didn't write that many cozies before she died so I read slowly (to savor) and treat myself to one or two a year. :) The one I picked up last night starts:<BR/><BR/>"The way my sister Mary Alice got us arrested was simple enough; she hit the president of the bank over the head with my umbrella."<BR/><BR/>She never ceases to yank me into the action and have me laughing in no time. <BR/><BR/>If a first paragraph doesn't grab me immediately, then I usually put the book back on the shelf. I've become very picky about who I spend my reading time with. I know I probably miss out on some good books that get off to a slow start, but I want what I want: immediate gratification. :) Yank me in and keep me there!Jessica Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18320362797117599955noreply@blogger.com