One could be 'The sun blazed down on the sandy shore as she stepped out of the car, the smell of the ocean hitting her like a wave.'
A good opening line might be 'As the seagulls cried overhead, he walked along the beach, his toes sinking into the warm sand, not knowing that this beach would change his life forever.' This line immediately sets the scene on the beach and hints at a coming adventure or change for the character. It gives a sense of place with the seagulls and the sand, and creates intrigue about what will happen to the character on this beach.
Sure. 'The beach stretched out before him, a seemingly endless expanse of white sand and turquoise water, and he knew this was where his story would begin.'
One could be 'In a world where chaos reigns, a hero emerges.' It immediately sets up an exciting and mysterious scene.
Well, they often create an immediate sense of unease. For example, a line that starts with a strange or disturbing description like in 'The Exorcist' where it begins with something that gives a feeling of wrongness. It makes the reader want to know what's going on.
Invoke a feeling of unease right away. 'As the clock struck midnight, a faint scratching sound came from the wall, a sound that seemed to be coming from another world.' This opening line makes the reader wonder what is causing the scratching sound and why it seems otherworldly. It creates an immediate sense of unease as midnight is often associated with the supernatural, and the strange sound adds to the mystery.
In many dystopian novels, the opening lines show a deviation from the normal. For instance, the start of 'Snowpiercer' (the novel on which the movie is based). If it started with a line like 'The train moved forward.' It might seem normal, but instead, it might start with something like 'The survivors on the train knew that outside was a frozen, dead world.' This immediately shows a world that is not as it should be. It sets a tone of confinement, of a last - ditch effort at survival in a world that has gone horribly wrong. And this tone of a world in crisis and people just trying to get by in a very abnormal situation pervades the entire story.
One effective first line is from 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen: 'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.' This line immediately sets the tone for a story about marriage and social expectations in the 19th - century English society.
One more notable opening line could be 'In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.' from 'The Great Gatsby'. This line makes the reader curious about what that advice was and why it has been on the narrator's mind for so long. It gives a sense of a story that has been brewing in the narrator's head for a while.
One of the best is 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' from George Orwell's '1984'. It immediately sets an off - kilter, dystopian mood.
The opening line 'Call me Ishmael.' from 'Moby - Dick' by Herman Melville is also well - known. It's a simple yet powerful way to introduce the narrator, making the reader curious about who Ishmael is and what his story will be.
A great opening line is 'All children, except one, grow up.' from J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan'. This line is simple yet very effective. It makes the reader wonder about that one special child and why they don't grow up like the others. It also gives a sense of mystery and the promise of an adventure.