Storytelling | The First Sentence.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
The 23rd Psalm is the Song of David!
The words are a promise that faith and obedience will be rewarded.
It is a powerful first sentence.
The Challenge of Writing.
My biggest challenge in writing The Leper Messiah was to invent the first sentence.
The first sentence in any narrative must promise the reader something, otherwise, it will be the only sentence read! The opening line will also set a unique tone for the entire narrative.
Even though it was my biggest challenge, I was offered a lifeline from the master story-tellers’ of my early days. Those first sentences promise adventure, excitement, redemption, as well as other inducements – all with the sole purpose of compelling the reader to continue!
A few examples:
- “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” from A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens.
- “It began the usual way, in the bathroom of the Lassimo Hotel.” taken from A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.
- “In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.” from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
For me, these opening sentences, like The Song of David, were immensely instructive.
The First Sentence.
I wrote my first sentence as if my life depended on it. It did!
In fact, I wrote hundreds of different first lines. I thought of each chapter and all of the characters as well as the central story.
Your opening sentence must breathe life into your story right from the start. It must move your story forward. If the first sentence is poor, the story will be poor! If the first sentence is weak, the story will be weak!
I wrote first sentences at the beginning but they were discarded after months of working on the story. My first sentence was revealed only after my story was complete!
This is my opening sentence:
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“I am bread and milk,” said the stranger who used the sound of his voice as a guide through the heavy mist and rain.
My characters’ path is blocked by heavy mist and rain. The promise is they will emerge from this difficult and dangerous journey because of the stranger who promises to guide them to the land of bread and milk.
The reader must ask:
- Who is this stranger that makes this promise?
- Is he a false prophet?
The reader must continue to find the answers!
Robert