Editor Jennifer's November Novelists Contest #1: Best First Sentence
>> Friday, November 6, 2009
And...they're off!
Did you make your word count today for Nanowrimo? I did! And in the spirit of mutual support and encouragement for writers, I'm offering four fun contests this month.
This week's contest is the Best First Sentence Contest.
What are the rules? There are no stinkin' rules. Write a sentence and post it in the comments below. Short. Long. Serious. Ridiculous.
Okay, I lied. There are two rules:
1. One entry per person, please.
2. It cannot be pornographic or violent to the point that I get nauseous. And Editor Jennifer has a bit of a tricky stomach, so be forewarned. If I am shocked and appalled, I will delete your comment.
Okay - that's it! The contest is open now. It closes at 11:59 PM on Friday, November 6th. I'll announce the winner on Saturday.
The prize is a copy of Getting Into Character, by Brandilyn Collins.
Good luck everyone!
(P.S. My comments work now - sorry to anyone who tried to post and couldn't. To anyone who posted on the other contest announcement, don't worry - I see them and will include them in the contest!)
32 comments:
I was informed that it's too intimidating to be the first one to comment, so here you go - I'm first!
Here's my sentence: (Which obviously will not count in the contest!)
Fresh Creek, South Dakota is no vacation spot.
Surely someone can top that!!!
Mine is a 2 liner - so the 2nd line has to be disqualified.
Brandon Knight blocked the stairs to her apartment as effectively as he’d barricaded her from the rest of her life.
And to think that she’d slept with him.
I'll come up with something better in the edit!
Here is my first line:-
Upside Down!
Megan Trent jerked out of a deep sleep at the sound of her clock radio turning on and off in a rapid beat of white noise and eerie silence.
With the arrival of traders from the Wolf Clan, a cloud of apprehension rolled in and billowed above the Wikwemikong Reservation.
Fine I will bite the bullet and put my opening line up.
Pulling off her wet clothes and getting under the hot spray of water, Karenina finally allowed herself to shiver violently at what had just happened minutes before.
Here is my first line:
Jacob Ingrahm pressed the play button on the blinking answering machine.
I don't know why I'm doing this...my first lines are always lame:
The horse picked its way across the ford, its lathered sides heaving.
Here is my nanowrimo book's first sentence:
Dad ignored the dead pedestrians cluttering Blaise Pascal Road as the Newton lifted over them, skirted around them, whizzed by towards Computville.
Here's my first line:
I ran over an alligator today.
I never meant to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but it slid past me like a wet whale on steroids.
My submission:
"Less than thirty minutes before his gruesome death, Eann Offutt stepped out of the short-range shuttle and braced himself against the extreme heat and humidity."
Top that, baby!! :-D
I thought I did, Khoz!
Here's mine:
"I killed my best friend today."
Okay, here's mine!
"Raith bel Alleman felt his father's death the moment it happened."
“Eighty-seven. Eight-nine. Ninety.” There was a plunk for each of the coins dropped on the counter.
The error was unintentional at first, but then I worked it into the story and it helped the MCs meet! Funny how that works sometimes.
“Take that you dirty pirate,” Ben called out.
Chris Wager
Here's my NaNo first sentence -
Keefe Walker frowned and shook his head, wondering how the week had slipped away.
Not as great as some of the others here, but at least I'm writing!
;-)
She was dreaming about silver unicorns, spell-throwing warlocks and lumbering, roaring ogres.
Here's mine:
When they said life sucked they weren't kidding, but then again, they hadn't been to the island of West California either.
Ok I will play!
Brianna lifted her trembling hand and reached out with bloodstained fingers.
Standing among the stars, his eyes darted between the two motionless fleets facing off in the darkness of space in front of him.
Wet blood stained the parchment in a perfect circle.
I see a NaNo dare coming on...use - wet whale on steroids - because that is a bucket o'brilliance!
As I stand in my spacious, comfortable office looking out the east window on the 43rd floor, the letter in my hand, I realize just how badly I can’t get a grip.
Maria de los Angeles was the name chosen by her mother, courting some divine miracle to deliver her from the tribulations of raising ten children on a hard-scrabble ranchito in the stark uplands of Sinaloa, and it worked: she died giving birth to little Mari.
She was already awake from the screaming that pierced her dream as her mother shook her, yelling, "Wake up, Eva, quick, and get onto the deck at once."
Steam filled the shower stall, whirling tendrils that ate at her red skin
Some stories cannot be told until the danger of life has passed.
It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks didn't work.
Raven West - First Line of Book, guess it didn't post the first time, but here it is:
“I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”
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