A line such as 'There was a house.' is also quite bad. It's so basic and lacks any sort of intrigue. There's no hint of what might be special about this house, whether there are secrets inside, or who might be associated with it. It doesn't draw the reader in at all.
Well, a first line like 'The day was normal.' is pretty awful too. It doesn't create any anticipation or curiosity. A good first line should make the reader want to know more about what's going to happen, but this one just implies that nothing interesting is going on, which is a turn - off for most readers.
The '100 worst first lines of novels' might be bad for various reasons. Some could be too cliché, like starting with 'It was a dark and stormy night' which has been overused. Others might be too convoluted or unclear, making it difficult for readers to immediately engage with the story. Some first lines may also lack any sort of hook to draw the reader in.
We can learn what not to do. For example, avoid starting with a boring statement that doesn't pique the reader's curiosity.
Sure. 'It was a time.' is a really bad first line. It's so vague that it doesn't give the reader any idea of when this 'time' is, what kind of era, or what might be significant about it. It just leaves the reader feeling lost from the very start.
One example could be a first sentence that is overly complex and filled with jargon that makes it difficult for the average reader to understand right away. For instance, a sentence like 'The ineffable esotericism of the preternatural realm was about to be divulged in a most perfunctory manner.' It's just too much to take in at the start and might put off readers.
One famous 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.'
One memorable 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 sets the tone for the whole story which is much about marriage, social status and the relationship between men and women in the society of that time.
One famous first line is 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times' from 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens.
One interesting first line 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 mood, making the reader wonder about this world where the clocks strike an unusual number.
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 of the great first lines 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 class in 19th - century England.