Hmm, I wonder how the title of this thread would rate, on a 'likely to be binned' scale?

I don't know, but the second half of the sentence would have to be pretty damn good!

Long term, first lines are hugely, hugely important. Short term, it is something which can make an agent sit up and take notice, so it is worth wrestling with.

I can't start a novel till the first line comes to me because it embodies fundamental things about the nature of the novel: voice, point-of-view, when and where in the bigger 'whole' story the novel is starting... And it's very rare for my first line to change, unless I change the novel structurally.

Reminds me of a chat I had with a BBC producer once and the number of short films he said he had submitted to him that started with a shot of an alarm clock ringing. Thunk! Next!

Reminds me of a chat I had with a BBC producer once and the number of short films he said he had submitted to him that started with a shot of an alarm clock ringing. Thunk! Next!

I'm so fascinated to discover that there's a film-equivalent... I blogged about this a while back - some may know it but if not:

http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2010/06/wake-up-and-rewrite.html

Emma

I'm so fascinated to discover that there's a film-equivalent

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of equivalent in any creative endeavour. We're all human and we all think in similar ways (whilst at the same time thinking we're being incredibly unique and original). I'm sure there are gallery owners or theater producers out there that will tell the exact same story from their own perspective, which I guess is all the more reason to go the extra mile creatively if you want to break into this line of work.

And so, coming back to the original question of this thread, yes I do think the first line is important. For many readers this is going to be their first impression of you as a writer and if that impression is of someone lazy and unimaginative, well it's only going to downhill from there.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of equivalent in any creative endeavour.

I can certainly think of a few from the world of pop music (in the sense of introductions to a song or tune): Hard Day's Night (the opening chord); Summer Holiday (the lead guitar intro); Eagle (again, an opening chord); Dancing Queen (opening chord and vocal harmonies).

Since theatre and film are closely related to literature (in the sense of often interpreting books), they will naturally follow the same principle.

The only art-forms where it wouldn't apply, I guess, are things like sculpture and paintings, where the whole thing is seen in one go. There isn't really the equivalent, there, of an opening glimpse of what's to come.

There is a similar consideration that often goes into the ending (of a book, song, etc.) The last line of a story doesn't have quite the same function as the opening one, but it can impart a lasting memory or impression. That, too, can be important, albeit for a different reason.

Alex