A writing meme that I've seen about the place.

[pensnest]

A meme about writing, because I ought undoubtedly to be doing something else. Like coaxing Sable through the cat flap. Meh. I meme.

Rules: list the first lines of your last 10 published stories. See if there are any patterns yourself, or have other people say what they notice.


First lines. (okay, the last one is a bit long, but otherwise it'd be a bit short)

"Going dragon-hunting this weekend, Bass?"
Dragon Country, RPF, fantasy AU, popslash/Adam Lambert


"Good mor—good grief!" Joey said as Chris walked through the door to Fatone's Bakery at just before nine on Sunday morning.
Perceptions of Reality, sequel to Dragon Country


Brian was on a mission.
in porco, veritas RPF, Backstreet/Nsync


The morning after the concert, the first thing Nick did was shave his mustache.
Hair RPF, Backstreet Boys, based on the video for I Just Want You To Know


“Did we eat all the popcorn?” Chris’s fingers found only unpopped kernels in the bottom of the bowl.
Thriller RPF AU


“I’m sorry, Brian. I have to make the call, and in the circumstances, there’s only one call I can make. You’re out.”
Fallen Down I'm Still Alive RPF AU


Lance was suddenly wide awake.
Mirror, Mirror RPF, Nsync and Alternate Universe Nsync


It was a fine, sunny day, and Lance was enjoying himself.
Jamie RPF, AU


The train rattled its way from Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour.
No Man's Fort RPF, AU


Chris wasn't a planner. He liked to play things by ear, take it as it came, do what felt right at the time… but when you were faced with a con programme with approximately nine zillion items in it, Chris thought, you had to do a bit of planning.
Con-Stir-Nation RPF, real life AU based at Nine Worlds convention, or something very similar


I obviously like an opening statement of some kind... two of these are sorta description, which strikes me as unusual for me. I do quite often open a story with dialogue, or at least, a spoken something. Hmm.

*

Someone did the last lines instead, and actually, I think they show much more similarity than the first lines do. Here they are in the same order as above.

With his heart's mate at his side, he would always be able to return to dragon country.

"That's dragons for you," said Lance. He'd take it, he thought.

Joey's pig-on-a-stick was the best roast pork he'd ever eaten.

They listened to the new albums in bed. They were awesome.

He pulled himself together. “This is the best birthday party ever!”

Brian was quite surprised to find out how much of him didn’t hurt.

Maybe he should try a goatee?
Nah. He was the good one.

The Christmas after that, two dogs woke them up.

They weren't going to work together, their professional goals were too different, but after their experience on No Man's Fort, he was confident they could learn to share a kitchen every day. As long as it came in a nice little house with a sea view.

Sometimes, you had to do a bit of planning.


I do like a mild little flourish to bring the story neatly to a close, and sometimes I struggle to finish until I figure out what it is.

Any thoughts, anyone?

Comments

[turps]

What an interesting meme.

I have to admit, I like your collection of closing lines a lot. I think there's something very satisfying in finishing a story well, and you do that in a nicely stated and solid way.

And I now have the urge to re-read No Man's Fort.

[pensnest]

I have a lot of opening lines and closing lines that I'm very happy with - if the meme had been to pick your ten best, I might have had a hard time! I love: "Not rat again!" and "Anybody who thinks they have a hard life should try shovelling dragon shit for a living." and "This is the story of how I lost my favorite shoe." And the whole of the first paragraph of The Christmas Tree Conspiracy.

But first lines are easy to find. Other stuff... I mean, I don't have dialogue that I can point to and say, Hey, I wrote that (subtext: bow down), which is sad. I still have, and probably always will have, The Earl of Rothinghamtonfordshire envy on that score.

That sort of emphatic 'and we're done' bit at the ends of stories seems to be what I do to end a story, so much so that I wonder if there's another way that works just as well... *shakes head sadly*

Have you done this meme?

[stultiloquentia]

I always think of Elizabeth Bear's advice: "The first line should hold the key to the rest of the story." Yours are pretty great at that, even when they're slantwise and sly about it. "Good mor—good grief!" is my favourite.

I like your endings, too. It's a fine balance, between ending on a satisfying note and writing the prose equivalent of the clod-footed perfect cadence at the end of an Anglican hymn. "aaaaah-MEEEEEHN!" An editing note I have given more than once: "Delete your last line. Your SECOND-to-last line is a perfect closer." Heh.

[pensnest]

I think my personal favourite of my own first lines is "Anyone who thinks they have a hard life should try shovelling dragon shit for a living." Which, well, does what it says on the tin, I think!

That editing note is very interesting, and inspired me to look back through several of my stories. Of the ones above, there are three where I *could* have stopped at the second last (but prefer the last), one where it would definitely have been better to do so, one where I don't entirely like the last line but the one before it wouldn't have worked, and the rest are right as they are. I had look through previous stories, it's definitely an interesting exercise - and might save me a lot of pain, as I've often struggled for ages to find the right payoff line!

[brandywine28]

I feel like your opening lines all come off so strong and decisive! (Even moreso compared to mine, which tend to be a lot of run-on nonsense.)

And now I'm thinking about Joey's pig-on-a-stick. :)

[pensnest]

Well, sometimes they do. Sometimes the first paragraph makes more sense. I guess as long as it gets people into the story it doesn't matter much how!