“The first line of a book should hook you” is fairly common advice—but there is more to it. First lines are memorable not on their own, but because everything that follows makes them meaningful.
Btw I understand that your intent is to help writers write better. I respect that. And again I am not an expert such as yourself.
I just don’t get the emphasis on the first line.
That’s my small point.
And mostly I think, from this amateur perspective, coming from an average to bad writer, that one should listen to their voice and tell a good story. I believe that the writing will flow if that basic idea is followed.
Second, to give you some context, what prompted this post of mine was a private conversation with someone trying to query and being desperate because most advice he read online was around the classic: "the first line must hook you."
I, as you can hopefully see in this post, disagree with the shallow read of that advice (i.e., "it has to hook you in 0.3s, like a Tiktok video, or your reader will DNF immediately/swipe away). and consider it important for a different reason: the value it has in the reread. The themes it contains.
For example, "It is possible I already had some presentiment of my future" is the opening line of The Shadow of The Torturer, from The Book of The New Sun by Gene Wolfe. It's quaint, it's interesting... but after you finish the fourth book (the last one in the quartet), a reader's reaction would likely be irony and "Dude, you kidding me?" because of the revelations that happen. Again, this is a quartet meant to be reread... and the author was quite explicit in that need.
However (and this I should've perhaps added to the post) is that non-fiction generally doesn't put that much emphasis on the first line as fiction does.
That said, loved your comments, and thank you so much for engaging! Means a lot! 🙌🏻
I sincerely feel (and am) unqualified to be a critic! Lol.
It was clear to me that you did not think the first line had the weight that many think it does.
I think you gave your friend great advice.
I also wish many more people read what you had to write here. It’s valuable advice.
And it makes sense to me (and I’ve never considered this) that the first line of fiction writing would have more import than non-fiction.
I don’t read much fiction. But have read many Stephen King books over the years, a great writer who is able to paint great pictures (I think a critical skill in fiction writing) and I suspect if I were to look back that his opening lines were masterpieces.
Yeah, I also read quite a bit of non-fiction but are different. For example, in John Bew's Realpolitik the opening of chapter one is "Realpolitik is no, as if often assumed, as old as statecraft itself." It is, perhaps, quite a 'flat' opening line... but it's charged with political philosophy and somewhat disagreeing with a discussion prominent in history books. So for a reader with that context the line lands, otherwise, it just leads you to the next line.
I think the import in non-fiction may be different as to that in fiction—where it is also highly dependent on the audience.
Regarding Stephen King, the opening lines of The Gunsliger (The Dark Tower I) and Pet Sematary are considered among the best. I think The Stand, and It are also well-regarded.
Thank you for this thoughtful exploration of a topic that has often been perplexing to me.
I’ve read many books and have never given the first sentence much thought at all. Is there something wrong with me?
I mean a book has to start somewhere, the first sentence seems like the obvious place.
I just looked up the first sentence of the last two books I’ve read. (Because I had no memory of them) and one other book I read a while back. What remained after reading the books was how remarkable the two individuals in my most recent books were. Not the first line of the book.
In the book “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - Edmund Morris” the opening line is a quote of a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called “The Musicians Tale.”
It’s a Pulitzer prize winning book but their opening line was someone else’s writing.
“Then King Olaf entered,
Beautiful as morning,
Like the sun at Easter
Shone his happy face.”
Then Morris opened with his own writing:
“On the late afternoon of 27 October 1858, a flurry of activity disturbed the genteel quietness of East Twentieth Street, New York City.”
I mean it’s good writing but the whole book was. More importantly I was not left thinking that the book was well written. What I was left thinking was what a remarkable human being Theodore Roosevelt was. I think if a book is well written you don’t even notice the writing. You are engrossed in the story being told. That is the evidence that it was written well. For me anyway.
I believe Bill Bryson is a great writer. His book “At Home” is a favorite of mine. The first line is :
“Some time after we moved into a former Church of England rectory in a village of tranquil anonymity in Norfolk, in the easternmost part of England, I had occasion to go up into the attic to look for the source of a slow but mysterious drip."
That line didn’t capture me or draw me in. It was just someplace to start. Was it written well? Of course. But it was the story told in his “voice” that carried me along.
I also read the John Marshall Harlan Bio “The Great Dissenter” recently.
The first line isn’t what I would consider great:
“They say that history is written by the victors."
I didn’t read that line and give it the cynical take I could have of, oh how original. It was just where the story began. And in the end it was an interesting story that the author told. I didn’t take off points because the opening line wasn’t great. I never thought of it again.
So I don’t get it. For me the first line doesn’t have to be great. It’s what comes after that matters. Was it a good story.
Thats what matters to me anyway.
Mostly what I want is for the writing to not get in the way of the story and to carry me along.
But maybe that’s just me. I’m certainly no expert nor great writer.
To my understanding, those opening quotes from other books don't really count as the "first sentence" of a story. Likewise, "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - Edmund Morris" is a biography: non-fiction. I should've added this to the post as well, but I was focusing exclusively in fiction (my area of expertise) where this advice is common. My guess for non-fiction would be that the value of the first line depends on the target audience: some books are more commercial, while others (generally University Presses) are more geared towards academics and care a bit less about "hooking" the reader.
However, I do agree with you on this: we all read differently, and that means we all pay attention to different things. Perhaps as you do, I myself do not care so much for the first line being "hooky"—I won't DNF a book simply because the first line didn't blow my mind... but there are audiences that would do so. Audiences that are younger and more prominent in TikTok.
More often than not, common "writing advice" that we can find on the internet (or even in "expert" books) is geared to being blanket statements that would work as a catch-all, without considering nuances... because nuances are complex to explain and can overwhelm beginner writers.
What you said here: "For me the first line doesn’t have to be great. It’s what comes after that matters. Was it a good story?" is precisely my point: what comes after is what makes the first line good in retrospect.
My wife works in a middle school library and has for the past 20 some years. She began her career teaching little ones to read. Just a couple of hours ago we were talking about the book fair that just ended at her school and how sad it was that graphic novels were so much more prominent now. Hey whatever gets a kid to read is great, but we suspect they are not actually reading them. Her school is not as affluent as the one I work in, very lower, working class, and middle class. So yes you’re right. It is a problem.
Well, some graphic novels are excellent and incredibly nuanced—e.g., Watchmen, V for Vendetta, the Asterix which, even if they are humorous, are deep. However, that's generally not the style of graphic novels nowadays... and few people are actually taught how to read graphic novels as a medium on their own, rather than just hopping between dialogue bubbles. Perhaps what you said here: "but we suspect they are not actually reading them."
I think another problem is sometimes the books teacher gives the kids. For example (and yes, it was two decades ago or more), but I was given The Metamorphosis when I was 13. It is, definitely, not a book I'd given a 13yo back then, lest of all now. Just like we can end up "hating" disciplines because we had bad teachers, we can end up hating reading if our first encounter with books is more a barrier than a welcoming gate—and let's be honest, Kafka trips even adult readers!
100% agree. Graphic novels can be fantastic. We just suspect they are not actually being read. My kids read some growing up. I always say just read. The rest will come.
This was a stimulating conversation thanks for the engagement and the post. I enjoyed it. Have a great weekend!
And in my semi-retirement I work in a high school. Admittedly it’s an affluent high school, but nonetheless I think kids get less credit than we generally give them. Many of them are hard working and read books. Social media certainly has shortened many of their attention spans I’m certain of that, but many have still thankfully embraced the paper book. I think that’s a good thing.
My 29 year old twins (highly educated) love to read to and I love that.
Completely! But it does entirely depend on context—some kids are not fortunate enough to have been taught the value and joy of reading. In fact, not many adults have either, given what some worrisome stats seem to showcase.
Yet there is something that matters: literary agents and publishers tend to, unfortunately, aim for the lowest common denominator... and they're generally the ones issuing advice such as the one competing this post.
My wife works in a middle school library and has for the past 20 some years. She began her career teaching little ones to read. Just a couple of hours ago we were talking about the book fair that just ended and how sad it was that graphic novels were so much more prominent now. Hey whatever gets a kid to read but we suspect they are not actually reading them. Her school as not as affluent as the one I work in, very working class. I spent 40 years driving a truck where you could be disparaged or ridiculed for reading a book. So sadly yes people do not read as much as they used to and in fact dismiss it. It’s almost like they want to go back to the days before the Gutenberg press and have the kings tell us what to think.
Btw I understand that your intent is to help writers write better. I respect that. And again I am not an expert such as yourself.
I just don’t get the emphasis on the first line.
That’s my small point.
And mostly I think, from this amateur perspective, coming from an average to bad writer, that one should listen to their voice and tell a good story. I believe that the writing will flow if that basic idea is followed.
First, you shouldn't be that self-deprecating 😅
Second, to give you some context, what prompted this post of mine was a private conversation with someone trying to query and being desperate because most advice he read online was around the classic: "the first line must hook you."
I, as you can hopefully see in this post, disagree with the shallow read of that advice (i.e., "it has to hook you in 0.3s, like a Tiktok video, or your reader will DNF immediately/swipe away). and consider it important for a different reason: the value it has in the reread. The themes it contains.
For example, "It is possible I already had some presentiment of my future" is the opening line of The Shadow of The Torturer, from The Book of The New Sun by Gene Wolfe. It's quaint, it's interesting... but after you finish the fourth book (the last one in the quartet), a reader's reaction would likely be irony and "Dude, you kidding me?" because of the revelations that happen. Again, this is a quartet meant to be reread... and the author was quite explicit in that need.
However (and this I should've perhaps added to the post) is that non-fiction generally doesn't put that much emphasis on the first line as fiction does.
That said, loved your comments, and thank you so much for engaging! Means a lot! 🙌🏻
I sincerely feel (and am) unqualified to be a critic! Lol.
It was clear to me that you did not think the first line had the weight that many think it does.
I think you gave your friend great advice.
I also wish many more people read what you had to write here. It’s valuable advice.
And it makes sense to me (and I’ve never considered this) that the first line of fiction writing would have more import than non-fiction.
I don’t read much fiction. But have read many Stephen King books over the years, a great writer who is able to paint great pictures (I think a critical skill in fiction writing) and I suspect if I were to look back that his opening lines were masterpieces.
Yeah, I also read quite a bit of non-fiction but are different. For example, in John Bew's Realpolitik the opening of chapter one is "Realpolitik is no, as if often assumed, as old as statecraft itself." It is, perhaps, quite a 'flat' opening line... but it's charged with political philosophy and somewhat disagreeing with a discussion prominent in history books. So for a reader with that context the line lands, otherwise, it just leads you to the next line.
I think the import in non-fiction may be different as to that in fiction—where it is also highly dependent on the audience.
Regarding Stephen King, the opening lines of The Gunsliger (The Dark Tower I) and Pet Sematary are considered among the best. I think The Stand, and It are also well-regarded.
Thank you for this thoughtful exploration of a topic that has often been perplexing to me.
I’ve read many books and have never given the first sentence much thought at all. Is there something wrong with me?
I mean a book has to start somewhere, the first sentence seems like the obvious place.
I just looked up the first sentence of the last two books I’ve read. (Because I had no memory of them) and one other book I read a while back. What remained after reading the books was how remarkable the two individuals in my most recent books were. Not the first line of the book.
In the book “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - Edmund Morris” the opening line is a quote of a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called “The Musicians Tale.”
It’s a Pulitzer prize winning book but their opening line was someone else’s writing.
“Then King Olaf entered,
Beautiful as morning,
Like the sun at Easter
Shone his happy face.”
Then Morris opened with his own writing:
“On the late afternoon of 27 October 1858, a flurry of activity disturbed the genteel quietness of East Twentieth Street, New York City.”
I mean it’s good writing but the whole book was. More importantly I was not left thinking that the book was well written. What I was left thinking was what a remarkable human being Theodore Roosevelt was. I think if a book is well written you don’t even notice the writing. You are engrossed in the story being told. That is the evidence that it was written well. For me anyway.
I believe Bill Bryson is a great writer. His book “At Home” is a favorite of mine. The first line is :
“Some time after we moved into a former Church of England rectory in a village of tranquil anonymity in Norfolk, in the easternmost part of England, I had occasion to go up into the attic to look for the source of a slow but mysterious drip."
That line didn’t capture me or draw me in. It was just someplace to start. Was it written well? Of course. But it was the story told in his “voice” that carried me along.
I also read the John Marshall Harlan Bio “The Great Dissenter” recently.
The first line isn’t what I would consider great:
“They say that history is written by the victors."
I didn’t read that line and give it the cynical take I could have of, oh how original. It was just where the story began. And in the end it was an interesting story that the author told. I didn’t take off points because the opening line wasn’t great. I never thought of it again.
So I don’t get it. For me the first line doesn’t have to be great. It’s what comes after that matters. Was it a good story.
Thats what matters to me anyway.
Mostly what I want is for the writing to not get in the way of the story and to carry me along.
But maybe that’s just me. I’m certainly no expert nor great writer.
To my understanding, those opening quotes from other books don't really count as the "first sentence" of a story. Likewise, "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - Edmund Morris" is a biography: non-fiction. I should've added this to the post as well, but I was focusing exclusively in fiction (my area of expertise) where this advice is common. My guess for non-fiction would be that the value of the first line depends on the target audience: some books are more commercial, while others (generally University Presses) are more geared towards academics and care a bit less about "hooking" the reader.
However, I do agree with you on this: we all read differently, and that means we all pay attention to different things. Perhaps as you do, I myself do not care so much for the first line being "hooky"—I won't DNF a book simply because the first line didn't blow my mind... but there are audiences that would do so. Audiences that are younger and more prominent in TikTok.
More often than not, common "writing advice" that we can find on the internet (or even in "expert" books) is geared to being blanket statements that would work as a catch-all, without considering nuances... because nuances are complex to explain and can overwhelm beginner writers.
What you said here: "For me the first line doesn’t have to be great. It’s what comes after that matters. Was it a good story?" is precisely my point: what comes after is what makes the first line good in retrospect.
My wife works in a middle school library and has for the past 20 some years. She began her career teaching little ones to read. Just a couple of hours ago we were talking about the book fair that just ended at her school and how sad it was that graphic novels were so much more prominent now. Hey whatever gets a kid to read is great, but we suspect they are not actually reading them. Her school is not as affluent as the one I work in, very lower, working class, and middle class. So yes you’re right. It is a problem.
Well, some graphic novels are excellent and incredibly nuanced—e.g., Watchmen, V for Vendetta, the Asterix which, even if they are humorous, are deep. However, that's generally not the style of graphic novels nowadays... and few people are actually taught how to read graphic novels as a medium on their own, rather than just hopping between dialogue bubbles. Perhaps what you said here: "but we suspect they are not actually reading them."
I think another problem is sometimes the books teacher gives the kids. For example (and yes, it was two decades ago or more), but I was given The Metamorphosis when I was 13. It is, definitely, not a book I'd given a 13yo back then, lest of all now. Just like we can end up "hating" disciplines because we had bad teachers, we can end up hating reading if our first encounter with books is more a barrier than a welcoming gate—and let's be honest, Kafka trips even adult readers!
100% agree. Graphic novels can be fantastic. We just suspect they are not actually being read. My kids read some growing up. I always say just read. The rest will come.
This was a stimulating conversation thanks for the engagement and the post. I enjoyed it. Have a great weekend!
I agree with you!
And in my semi-retirement I work in a high school. Admittedly it’s an affluent high school, but nonetheless I think kids get less credit than we generally give them. Many of them are hard working and read books. Social media certainly has shortened many of their attention spans I’m certain of that, but many have still thankfully embraced the paper book. I think that’s a good thing.
My 29 year old twins (highly educated) love to read to and I love that.
Completely! But it does entirely depend on context—some kids are not fortunate enough to have been taught the value and joy of reading. In fact, not many adults have either, given what some worrisome stats seem to showcase.
Yet there is something that matters: literary agents and publishers tend to, unfortunately, aim for the lowest common denominator... and they're generally the ones issuing advice such as the one competing this post.
My wife works in a middle school library and has for the past 20 some years. She began her career teaching little ones to read. Just a couple of hours ago we were talking about the book fair that just ended and how sad it was that graphic novels were so much more prominent now. Hey whatever gets a kid to read but we suspect they are not actually reading them. Her school as not as affluent as the one I work in, very working class. I spent 40 years driving a truck where you could be disparaged or ridiculed for reading a book. So sadly yes people do not read as much as they used to and in fact dismiss it. It’s almost like they want to go back to the days before the Gutenberg press and have the kings tell us what to think.
Sorry not sure why that first comment posted before I finished.