Okay! I'm stealing this thread a bit over from AbsoluteWrite, because it's been very helpful and very interesting.
Here's the basic idea. In many cases, if you go around and do some research of publishers, agents and other professionals in the writing world, you'll find that the first three lines of a novel/story hold huge importance; so much so that many manuscripts have been rejected based on them alone.
So in this thread, we're going to try to help each other to make those first three sentences the best possible. Trust me, regardless if you're ever planning to publish or not, this excercise can be useful to you. You might even be surprised how much can be seen from the first three sentences alone!
Rules
* You can post your three opening sentences-- ONLY your first three sentences. If you want, you can provide a bit of context (such as "this is an sf story and the opening is a prologue" or whatever)
* Similarly, provide critiques on the first three sentences, even if the author has accidentally posted more. Maybe the main point comes across only in the fourth, but that's not the point.
* It's okay to post more than once, but try not to clutter the thread and offer as much feedback as you ask for.
* When providing feedback, be as detailed as you'd like (the more the better, but that doesn't mean every typo needs to be edited along with a 1000-word long critique ). Mention if you'd keep reading or not and explain why.
* You can reply to a critique by posting an updated version, or by smiling and saying thank you; if you want to discuss it further, please take it to PMs. Asking for clarification is fine, though. If you want to argue or insult the person, this thread wasn't a good choice in the first place, so please don't think of doing that
* This isn't a "review the post above you" kind of thread; it's okay to post your own sentences without critiquing the previous ones (but don't do it often, and critique the next ones that come along, 'cause that's fair), it's okay to only give critique and not share your own openings, it's okay to critique more than one submission at once and it's okay to skip the one straight above you and critique the one before it even if it's already gotten a critique.
* Suggestions are, of course, fine!
* It's optional, but nice, to thank your critics in some way. Since no one will get points for commenting in this thread, maybe think of donating them some, or reviewing their works, or sending them a cute gift via PM. Remember that people like to critique those who take it well and treat their critics well
~
As a helpful note, it's a vaguely general concensus that the first three opening lines should contain a character, somewhere, doing something. Not necessarily in that order. However, many stories are exception to this rule, and there's no saying what goes and what doesn't until you try it and dare to test the waters.
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