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  • Writing Magazine

    First lines for fiction

    Nov 05, 2020 4 minutes

    You have a great idea for a novel. You’ve fleshed out your characters, established your plot, conflicts and hurdles that your protagonist has to overcome. Maybe you’ve even written a timeline, synopsis or individual scenes. But writing the opening line and first paragraph that will hook your reader and encourage them to keep reading can be elusive. How do you start those compelling first lines of your novel?

    The following examples are taken from YA fiction novels, but the techniques are universal and could be applied to any novel you are planning.

    Simple, sudden and surprising

    Short first lines can be powerful. Keep the back story and descriptive scene setting for later

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