There's a Cello on my Table, by Fiona Lloyd
There’s a cello on my kitchen table… Well, it worked, didn’t it? A strong opening sentence that drew you in – otherwise, you wouldn’t have read this far. A good first line sparks off all sorts of questions in our heads and makes us want to find out more. In writing terms, this is known as a hook : something that will grab the reader’s attention and motivate them to keep reading. It’s a concept that’s equally relevant to both fiction and non-fiction, and for short and long pieces. Most writing courses emphasise the importance of having a strong first line (which is probably why they’re often the hardest to get right). A good first sentence whets our appetite for the rest of the story. It conveys information about the style of the book, but only enough to entice us further in. However, they can also be used to inspire our writing. A few months ago, our local ACW group had a workshop on short-story writing. Being a practical bunch, we spent part of the day writing our own...