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a_t_rainBecause I need something to get me back in a writing mood.
Post the first line from your 25 most recent fanfics and try to find a pattern.
I'm throwing in two from my original fiction epic, as well. Because that's where I really need some inspiration.
1) "After the battle, the Aurors took Draco’s parents into custody and took him down to the Ministry for questioning. He passed most of the two days that followed in a holding cell: now and again, someone pulled him out and barked questions at him, but most of the time, they ignored him. He was seventeen and, as far as the Ministry was concerned, insignificant." -- "Breaking Bread," WIP not yet posted
2) "For centuries, the University of Wittenberg had housed the only postgraduate programs in magical Europe, so it was traditional for graduates to wear the robes of the school where they had studied until the age of eighteen."
-- Graduation Day
3) "The stranger sat all day in the marketplace with a placard around his neck that read 'My Knighthood To Him Who Can Beat Me.'" -- My Knighthood to Him Who Can Beat Me
4) "Spring came early to Illyria, even in Montverde, the northernmost of the many dukedoms that did not precisely make up a country. Lizards and adders crept out from under the rocks and began to bask in the sunshine; toads hopped about in damp places; beetles flew into spiders’ webs and were trapped; hedgehogs crept out at twilight and rooted in the garden. And Master Bertolli sent out his servants to collect lizards, adders, toads, beetles, spiders, and hedgehogs, the anatomy of which he faithfully studied. He was working on a painting of Hell, and he required models for demons." -- Part II of the original fiction epic, tentatively titled Give and Hazard
5) "It was not precisely the sort of wedding Mariana had imagined." -- Best Men Are Molded Out of Faults
6) "What would you say, Benjamin, if I told you that I meant for this to happen? Would it surprise you if I told you I planned it all along?" -- A Still-Life Watercolor of a Now-Late Afternoon
7) "Be it death proclaimed throughout our host to boast of this or take that praise from God which is his only...
The king and the Duke of Exeter kept talking and talking, but Michael Williams scarcely listened." -- These Wounds I Had on Crispin's Day
8) "Tattered posters advertising U-No-Poo still fluttered from the front of the shop. One window had been smashed; it was a testimony to the fear that had kept even thieves out of Diagon Alley that most of the merchandise was still intact." -- Taking Stock
9) “Dora? Would you brew a potion for me?” -- Sojourners
10) "It started off as an ordinary day. Monica Wilkins got up early, showered, and had breakfast with Wendell on the terrace. She lingered over her coffee, enjoying the view of the gum trees and the raucous laughter of the kookaburras. It had been a good decision to move here – more space than they’d had in England, and much better weather. She couldn’t think why they hadn’t done it years ago." -- I Have No Daughter
11) “My dear,” said Dolores Umbridge in a sickly sweet voice, “we’ve all been very concerned about you lately. Of course, I’m absolutely sure the rumors aren’t true...” -- Of Unions and Civility. (Huh, I'd forgotten I wrote this one.)
12) "Dear Alastor,
I am writing to congratulate you on your appointment as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and to wish you the best of luck." -- Dear Alastor
13) "It was market day, and the shortest day of the year. In the city of Arrundell on the island of Arrun, plump geese hung in the stalls of the marketplace, and the square was filled with the smells of hot mince pies and cider mulled with spices from the Faraway Isles. The ballad-singers strolled about, plucking their harps and singing carols. The vendors shouted to be heard above the music: What will ye buy, what d’ ye lack? Fine ribbons and laces for ladies, needles and pins, rattles and whistles for your babies. And at the edge of the market square, three children crouched, drawing pictures on the flat grey paving-stones." -- Part I of the original fiction epic, tentatively titled Art to Enchant
14) “Very well, Potter,” said Professor McGonagall, “here is your schedule. Oh, by the way, twenty hopefuls have already put down their names for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I shall pass the list to you in due course and you can fix up trials at your leisure.”
Harry began to gather up his things; Dean took his O.W.L. results out of his book bag, expecting his turn to be next. -- Fra Pandolf's Hands. The first paragraph is mostly quoted from HBP.
15) "It is late November and Draco Malfoy has not returned to school." -- Midnight in the Hall of Mirrors. (Wow, I'd forgotten about this one, too.)
16) “Excuse me for missing the prefects’ meeting,” said Lily Evans crossly. “I would’ve liked to have been there, but I was shanghaied.” -- Reindeer Games
17) "In the Renaissance, the operatives of the International Confederation of Wizards were known as “Angels” because of their wing-shaped insignia and the swiftness with which they moved to punish the guilty and protect the innocent. On one particular winter evening in 1540, they had come after one John Faustus, Doctor of Logic, Medicine, Law, Divinity, and Magic at the University of Wittenberg, Conjuror Laureate, and intimate friend of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Duke of Anholt." -- The Jaws of Hell Are Open to Receive Thee
18) “If you proceed downstairs into the Department of Mysteries, Cornelius,” said Dumbledore coolly, “you will find several escaped Death Eaters bound by an Anti-Disapparation Jinx and awaiting your decision as to what to do with them. In the meantime –” he motioned for me to come forward – “I believe you owe an apology to a man whom the Ministry has grievously wronged.” -- Out of This House (not quite the actual first line, as the first two paragraphs are quoted from OotP with one key revision)
19) "Fenrir Greyback was a great admirer of education." -- Remorse
20) "Nice girls don’t hit, scratch, or bite." -- Nice Girls Don't
21) “Bosola,” said Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria, “do you remember that strong-thighed bargeman who ferried us across the river yesterday?” -- The Sin of Pandarus
22) "It was not the bachelor party Bill Weasley ought to have had." -- Present Mirth
23) "Ultimately, it was my father’s fault that I spent a considerable portion of the eighteenth summer of my life impersonating a nun." -- Correspondence Course. This is my favorite first line.
24) "The first year he returned to Hogwarts as a professor after the war, Remus Lupin skipped the Welcoming Feast." -- An Encounter by Candlelight
25) “This is well!” exclaimed Sir Hugh Evans. “He has made us his vlouting-stog. I desire you that we may be friends; and let us knog our prains together to be revenge on this same scall, scurvy, cogging companion, the host of the Garter.”
“By gar, with all my heart,” agreed Dr. Caius. “He promise to bring me where is Anne Page; by gar, he deceive me too.”
“Well, I will smite his noddles.” Evans was in such a towering state of rage that he had entirely forgotten he was a parson. “Pray you, follow.” -- Honest Knaveries, although actually I think Shakespeare wrote all of it except the speech tags.
Um, patterns? I guess I tend to go for the slow windup; the first person to speak, or the first person mentioned, usually isn't the main character, although there are exceptions. Fanfic often starts off with a quote from the source text; both of the original pieces (and the really weird-ass Faustus / HP crossover) have first paragraphs that are mostly scene-setting. And there are a few too many "it was" and "it is"es for comfort. Ugh.
Post the first line from your 25 most recent fanfics and try to find a pattern.
I'm throwing in two from my original fiction epic, as well. Because that's where I really need some inspiration.
1) "After the battle, the Aurors took Draco’s parents into custody and took him down to the Ministry for questioning. He passed most of the two days that followed in a holding cell: now and again, someone pulled him out and barked questions at him, but most of the time, they ignored him. He was seventeen and, as far as the Ministry was concerned, insignificant." -- "Breaking Bread," WIP not yet posted
2) "For centuries, the University of Wittenberg had housed the only postgraduate programs in magical Europe, so it was traditional for graduates to wear the robes of the school where they had studied until the age of eighteen."
-- Graduation Day
3) "The stranger sat all day in the marketplace with a placard around his neck that read 'My Knighthood To Him Who Can Beat Me.'" -- My Knighthood to Him Who Can Beat Me
4) "Spring came early to Illyria, even in Montverde, the northernmost of the many dukedoms that did not precisely make up a country. Lizards and adders crept out from under the rocks and began to bask in the sunshine; toads hopped about in damp places; beetles flew into spiders’ webs and were trapped; hedgehogs crept out at twilight and rooted in the garden. And Master Bertolli sent out his servants to collect lizards, adders, toads, beetles, spiders, and hedgehogs, the anatomy of which he faithfully studied. He was working on a painting of Hell, and he required models for demons." -- Part II of the original fiction epic, tentatively titled Give and Hazard
5) "It was not precisely the sort of wedding Mariana had imagined." -- Best Men Are Molded Out of Faults
6) "What would you say, Benjamin, if I told you that I meant for this to happen? Would it surprise you if I told you I planned it all along?" -- A Still-Life Watercolor of a Now-Late Afternoon
7) "Be it death proclaimed throughout our host to boast of this or take that praise from God which is his only...
The king and the Duke of Exeter kept talking and talking, but Michael Williams scarcely listened." -- These Wounds I Had on Crispin's Day
8) "Tattered posters advertising U-No-Poo still fluttered from the front of the shop. One window had been smashed; it was a testimony to the fear that had kept even thieves out of Diagon Alley that most of the merchandise was still intact." -- Taking Stock
9) “Dora? Would you brew a potion for me?” -- Sojourners
10) "It started off as an ordinary day. Monica Wilkins got up early, showered, and had breakfast with Wendell on the terrace. She lingered over her coffee, enjoying the view of the gum trees and the raucous laughter of the kookaburras. It had been a good decision to move here – more space than they’d had in England, and much better weather. She couldn’t think why they hadn’t done it years ago." -- I Have No Daughter
11) “My dear,” said Dolores Umbridge in a sickly sweet voice, “we’ve all been very concerned about you lately. Of course, I’m absolutely sure the rumors aren’t true...” -- Of Unions and Civility. (Huh, I'd forgotten I wrote this one.)
12) "Dear Alastor,
I am writing to congratulate you on your appointment as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and to wish you the best of luck." -- Dear Alastor
13) "It was market day, and the shortest day of the year. In the city of Arrundell on the island of Arrun, plump geese hung in the stalls of the marketplace, and the square was filled with the smells of hot mince pies and cider mulled with spices from the Faraway Isles. The ballad-singers strolled about, plucking their harps and singing carols. The vendors shouted to be heard above the music: What will ye buy, what d’ ye lack? Fine ribbons and laces for ladies, needles and pins, rattles and whistles for your babies. And at the edge of the market square, three children crouched, drawing pictures on the flat grey paving-stones." -- Part I of the original fiction epic, tentatively titled Art to Enchant
14) “Very well, Potter,” said Professor McGonagall, “here is your schedule. Oh, by the way, twenty hopefuls have already put down their names for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I shall pass the list to you in due course and you can fix up trials at your leisure.”
Harry began to gather up his things; Dean took his O.W.L. results out of his book bag, expecting his turn to be next. -- Fra Pandolf's Hands. The first paragraph is mostly quoted from HBP.
15) "It is late November and Draco Malfoy has not returned to school." -- Midnight in the Hall of Mirrors. (Wow, I'd forgotten about this one, too.)
16) “Excuse me for missing the prefects’ meeting,” said Lily Evans crossly. “I would’ve liked to have been there, but I was shanghaied.” -- Reindeer Games
17) "In the Renaissance, the operatives of the International Confederation of Wizards were known as “Angels” because of their wing-shaped insignia and the swiftness with which they moved to punish the guilty and protect the innocent. On one particular winter evening in 1540, they had come after one John Faustus, Doctor of Logic, Medicine, Law, Divinity, and Magic at the University of Wittenberg, Conjuror Laureate, and intimate friend of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Duke of Anholt." -- The Jaws of Hell Are Open to Receive Thee
18) “If you proceed downstairs into the Department of Mysteries, Cornelius,” said Dumbledore coolly, “you will find several escaped Death Eaters bound by an Anti-Disapparation Jinx and awaiting your decision as to what to do with them. In the meantime –” he motioned for me to come forward – “I believe you owe an apology to a man whom the Ministry has grievously wronged.” -- Out of This House (not quite the actual first line, as the first two paragraphs are quoted from OotP with one key revision)
19) "Fenrir Greyback was a great admirer of education." -- Remorse
20) "Nice girls don’t hit, scratch, or bite." -- Nice Girls Don't
21) “Bosola,” said Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria, “do you remember that strong-thighed bargeman who ferried us across the river yesterday?” -- The Sin of Pandarus
22) "It was not the bachelor party Bill Weasley ought to have had." -- Present Mirth
23) "Ultimately, it was my father’s fault that I spent a considerable portion of the eighteenth summer of my life impersonating a nun." -- Correspondence Course. This is my favorite first line.
24) "The first year he returned to Hogwarts as a professor after the war, Remus Lupin skipped the Welcoming Feast." -- An Encounter by Candlelight
25) “This is well!” exclaimed Sir Hugh Evans. “He has made us his vlouting-stog. I desire you that we may be friends; and let us knog our prains together to be revenge on this same scall, scurvy, cogging companion, the host of the Garter.”
“By gar, with all my heart,” agreed Dr. Caius. “He promise to bring me where is Anne Page; by gar, he deceive me too.”
“Well, I will smite his noddles.” Evans was in such a towering state of rage that he had entirely forgotten he was a parson. “Pray you, follow.” -- Honest Knaveries, although actually I think Shakespeare wrote all of it except the speech tags.
Um, patterns? I guess I tend to go for the slow windup; the first person to speak, or the first person mentioned, usually isn't the main character, although there are exceptions. Fanfic often starts off with a quote from the source text; both of the original pieces (and the really weird-ass Faustus / HP crossover) have first paragraphs that are mostly scene-setting. And there are a few too many "it was" and "it is"es for comfort. Ugh.
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-31 07:21 pm (UTC)No, seriously though, it sounds interesting.
ETA: You wrote Bosola fic! *Awesome*. And I love (and am a bit jealous of) the way you get the tone of the period right without making it feel stilted or overworked.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-01 06:50 pm (UTC)