drive-by first lines meme
Oct. 31st, 2021 11:44 pm(Long time no see, what's up? I want to write something like a general update/journal post but, like, later *weary emoji*)
meme taken from![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fangirlishness *g*
Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories. See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line.
(oop, I've only got 11 fics posted...and some of them have very short first sentences so I'm including the second in the few cases where it's most needed. Highlight the black bars to read.)
First Lines:
1. In the afternoon, they pull up the net. Zhao Yunlan and another man, whose name he's desperately trying to remember, haul it onto the deck and leave it. (a moment of falling, Guardian, weilan, 4.2k, M)
2. It's a pleasant evening–partly cloudy but not cold, with an occasional warm breeze. (Where We Were Meant To Be, Guardian RPF, zhubai, 2.6k, T)
3. It’s all a shitshow. One moment Zhao Yunlan is fighting Wu Xiaojun with Guo Changcheng, the next Shen Wei is there, ending the fight. (bite my tongue, bide my time, Guardian, weilan, 1k, T)
4. It's a nice place, Shen Wei thinks when he enters the tea shop. (But on we rush round every bend, Guardian and Detective L crossover, Shen Wei & Wang Susu, 1.8k, T)
5. The Old King's book on Energy Conductive Metals, Their Properties and Uses is an interesting read. (Height of Wonder, Guardian, weilan, 1.3k, T)
6. Zhao Yunlan misses the one year anniversary. (Remembrance, Guardian, weilan, 1k, G)
7. Let them have what I never will, the thought comes and goes, full of hope and love. (after the last grain of sand in the hourglass falls, Guardian and Time Engraver commercials crossover, weilan, 11.4k, T
8. “Is there something you wish for, Kunlun?” Shen Wei asks one night, unprompted, almost sounding giddy. (on a moonlit clifftop, Guardian, weilan, 0.8k, T)
9. A dizzying array of colors flashes from the stage lights as the guitarist launches into an epic solo. (chasin’ after your heart’s desire, Guardian RPF, zhubai, 2.7k, E)
10. He looked weak, shaky on his legs; already beaten and bleeding from countless wounds, the Black Cloaked Envoy was nothing like the man Ya Ziliang had looked up to. (Sunrise in Dixing, Guardian, outsider POV on ep38, 2.3k, M)
11. Terror, confusion, darkness. Wandering around an unfamiliar place, alone yet surrounded by people. This was the wrong place but there wasn’t a way to get out. (Ashes of Past Fears, Guardian, weilan, 5.8k, T)
Spotting patterns: *breathes in* They're short, that's the main one! :D It's partly by design—I want the first sentence to be attention grabbing and make the reader want to see the second. Basically, I want to make the reader go, "Oh, do tell!" (e.g. 3, 5, 6) That's when the action/events are more important than the emotions, I suppose. Or, sometimes I'm just looking to set the scene (e.g. 2, 9, 11) because the tone is important.
For the most part, I don't like to start with a pronoun because, as a reader, I find that confusing. Of all the *hims* out there, whomst?? Y'know? :D But for 10 I deliberately wanted that confusion, I wanted the fact that I'm describing the BCE to be a dramatic revelation. 11 was something similar—it opens with a dream sequence.
Oh, 7 had a different starting sentence for a very long time, I switched it in one of the later rounds of editing.
Favorite: ahh that's hard. I like 3 because it's funny, kinda ironic (the fic is anything but humorous). Hmm, I love 10 a lot, actually, so I think I'll pick that one. (Writing that fic was an interesting journey and I'm very, very glad I went for it.)
meme taken from
fangirlishness *g*Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories. See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line.
(oop, I've only got 11 fics posted...and some of them have very short first sentences so I'm including the second in the few cases where it's most needed. Highlight the black bars to read.)
First Lines:
1. In the afternoon, they pull up the net. Zhao Yunlan and another man, whose name he's desperately trying to remember, haul it onto the deck and leave it. (a moment of falling, Guardian, weilan, 4.2k, M)
2. It's a pleasant evening–partly cloudy but not cold, with an occasional warm breeze. (Where We Were Meant To Be, Guardian RPF, zhubai, 2.6k, T)
3. It’s all a shitshow. One moment Zhao Yunlan is fighting Wu Xiaojun with Guo Changcheng, the next Shen Wei is there, ending the fight. (bite my tongue, bide my time, Guardian, weilan, 1k, T)
4. It's a nice place, Shen Wei thinks when he enters the tea shop. (But on we rush round every bend, Guardian and Detective L crossover, Shen Wei & Wang Susu, 1.8k, T)
5. The Old King's book on Energy Conductive Metals, Their Properties and Uses is an interesting read. (Height of Wonder, Guardian, weilan, 1.3k, T)
6. Zhao Yunlan misses the one year anniversary. (Remembrance, Guardian, weilan, 1k, G)
7. Let them have what I never will, the thought comes and goes, full of hope and love. (after the last grain of sand in the hourglass falls, Guardian and Time Engraver commercials crossover, weilan, 11.4k, T
8. “Is there something you wish for, Kunlun?” Shen Wei asks one night, unprompted, almost sounding giddy. (on a moonlit clifftop, Guardian, weilan, 0.8k, T)
9. A dizzying array of colors flashes from the stage lights as the guitarist launches into an epic solo. (chasin’ after your heart’s desire, Guardian RPF, zhubai, 2.7k, E)
10. He looked weak, shaky on his legs; already beaten and bleeding from countless wounds, the Black Cloaked Envoy was nothing like the man Ya Ziliang had looked up to. (Sunrise in Dixing, Guardian, outsider POV on ep38, 2.3k, M)
11. Terror, confusion, darkness. Wandering around an unfamiliar place, alone yet surrounded by people. This was the wrong place but there wasn’t a way to get out. (Ashes of Past Fears, Guardian, weilan, 5.8k, T)
Spotting patterns: *breathes in* They're short, that's the main one! :D It's partly by design—I want the first sentence to be attention grabbing and make the reader want to see the second. Basically, I want to make the reader go, "Oh, do tell!" (e.g. 3, 5, 6) That's when the action/events are more important than the emotions, I suppose. Or, sometimes I'm just looking to set the scene (e.g. 2, 9, 11) because the tone is important.
For the most part, I don't like to start with a pronoun because, as a reader, I find that confusing. Of all the *hims* out there, whomst?? Y'know? :D But for 10 I deliberately wanted that confusion, I wanted the fact that I'm describing the BCE to be a dramatic revelation. 11 was something similar—it opens with a dream sequence.
Oh, 7 had a different starting sentence for a very long time, I switched it in one of the later rounds of editing.
Favorite: ahh that's hard. I like 3 because it's funny, kinda ironic (the fic is anything but humorous). Hmm, I love 10 a lot, actually, so I think I'll pick that one. (Writing that fic was an interesting journey and I'm very, very glad I went for it.)