Hooking Readers with the First Line

“First sentences are doors to worlds,” wrote Ursula Le Guin, and the best lodge themselves indelibly in our minds

Details

Nothing is more important to your story than the first line.

In the workshop, we will break down first lines from a diverse array of genres and styles, including contemporary literary fiction (Denis Johnson, Leslie Marmon Silko), sci-fi (Ursula Le Guin), mystery (Raymond Chandler), thriller (Stephen King), and classics (Melville, Achebe) dissecting what works and what doesn’t, the nitty-gritty tactics used to launch the reader into the writer’s world.

We will be going deep, word-by-word, showing how much power you can concisely pack into an opening line, and how much easier the right intro can make completing your story.

Workshop takeaways

• Understanding the importance of first lines in fiction • Learning how to pack character, setting, and style into a single arresting sentence • Become aware of the graceful symmetry of a story that answers all the subtle questions presented in its opening

Additional info

This workshop will be recorded for the convenience of those unable to attend live. The recorded session will be emailed to participants the following day.