Writing Prompts: First Lines
Sometimes I have an idea for the first line of a story, but no ending, other times, it's the middle bit, or even the last line. In today's blog, we're looking at some resources which offer a first line to develop into a story.
This is an ongoing writing competition, where a list of first lines are provided. It's free to submit your stories, and it is a paying market. There are 4 editions a year, and they accept a wide range of stories.
2) The Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest (Wretched writer's welcome)
I'm including this one as a bit of fun. It's harder than you think to write a really bad story!
'Since 1982 the Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest has challenged man, woman, and (precocious) child to write an atrocious opening sentence to a hypothetical bad novel. Intrigued? Peruse the odious details.'
The Deadline is June 30
3) Hobbylark Blog: 99 Starter sentences
This blog has a nice long list of first lines to start from. There is a good range to choose from, and you're sure to find at least one to inspire a story. Some examples include:
- By the time I reached the train station, she was gone
- Every time I pulled, the ropes seemed to get tighter around my wrists.
- When Allan arrived home there were 42 messages on his answering machine
You may need to tweak the grammar in some of these
4) First Line blog by Loria Bloomfield @loriabloomfield
The blog is no longer being updated, but has 200 lines of blog prompts. If you want more up to date prompts, the author publishes them each day on twitter: @loriabloomfield
5) Plot Generator: Opening line generator
This site has a range of tools and generators for different stories. It includes a first line generator, which will keep you going for a long long time..
No more excuses! You should be able to find at least one story in the sites listed above. Time to get writing....