They create intrigue. For example, a line like 'I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.' from a modern novel (hypothetical here) makes you want to know what the story is that everyone is telling differently. It hooks you immediately.
They engage readers by creating mystery. For example, a line like 'A screaming comes across the sky.' makes readers wonder what's going on. Also, they can set the mood. Lines from dystopian novels often set a gloomy or strange mood right from the start. And some introduce a character in an interesting way like 'Call me Ishmael.'
They create mystery. For example, like the line from 'The Hobbit' - 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.' It makes the reader wonder what a hobbit is. This simple yet mysterious start compels the reader to keep reading to find out.
They create intrigue. For example, the opening line 'Call me Ishmael.' from 'Moby - Dick' makes readers wonder who Ishmael is and what his story will be. It's a simple yet effective way to draw the reader in.
The best opening lines engage readers by creating mystery. For example, 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.' from 'The Hobbit' makes you wonder what a hobbit is. It hooks you immediately.
Good first lines can introduce an interesting character. 'He walked into the room with a confidence that both attracted and intimidated those around him.' This line makes the reader curious about the man's character. They want to learn more about his story, why he has such confidence, and how others will react to him.
They create mystery. For example, like the first line in 'The Hunger Games'. A cold bed makes you wonder what happened, and this mystery makes you keep reading to find out. Simple as that.
They create mystery. For example, a line like 'In a dark, forgotten corner of the old house, something stirred.' makes the reader wonder what that something is. It's simple yet effective in making the reader want to know more.
They create mystery. For example, like in the first line of 'The Great Gatsby' - 'In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.' It makes you wonder what that advice was and why it has stayed with the narrator for so long.
They often create intrigue. For example, a first line that poses a question or presents a mystery makes the reader want to find out more. If it starts with something like 'She saw him across the crowded room, but she knew there was something different about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on...' It makes you wonder what that difference is and how it will play into the love story.
The first lines often introduce something unique. In many best - selling novels, the first line might introduce a strange setting or an unusual character. For example, if the first line is about a character with purple hair and a third eye in the middle of their forehead living in a floating city, it's so different that it grabs your attention. It gives a sense of the extraordinary that might be in store in the rest of the story.