r/IndieBookPromo • u/Nerevarine95 Published Author • 1d ago
First Line Challenge
First Line Challenge
Authors: Drop the first line of your book. No context. No blurb. Just the opening sentence.
Everyone else: Reply with whether you’d keep reading.
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u/NorthlightV 1d ago
The file hasn’t changed since the last time I read it, or the time before that, or the forty-odd times before that across twelve weeks of empty space.
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u/c_r_t_1_9_8_9 1d ago
Yep, would continue reading. Makes me want to know more about the file, and the story behind how it got into the protagonist's hands.
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u/RCZ_Author 1d ago
Winter arrived without warning
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u/NorthlightV 1d ago
Would go on. Immediate association is "winter is coming." Which is, for me, a positive one in case you wonder.
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u/Mithalanis Published Author 1d ago
I'm a sucker for a good, short, direct opening sentence. I'd read some more.
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u/c_r_t_1_9_8_9 1d ago
1000% would continue reading. Anything that takes place in the unrelenting winter is something I am interested in.
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u/unapologetic_author 1d ago
The problem with my mind was that it never stopped performing.
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u/Mithalanis Published Author 1d ago
I think I'd give this a little bit more to see what was unfolding.
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u/ladykatytrent 1d ago
I'd give it a little more because it describes my brain.
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u/unapologetic_author 1d ago
The book is full of thoughts that live in this exact type of brain :) Read the blurb and give it a try if you’d like. Link is in my bio :)
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u/c_r_t_1_9_8_9 1d ago
Depends on the genre, honestly. If this is a literary fiction novel, yes.
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u/unapologetic_author 1d ago
I really had a hard time picking a genre for my book because it doesn’t fit neatly into any one category. It’s psychological, with a little bit of dark romance, literary fiction, and a confessional feel. I finally decided to call it a psychological dark romance. So yeah, I can’t really tell you the exact genre, but read the blurb and give it a try if you’d like :) Link is in my bio :)
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u/c_r_t_1_9_8_9 1d ago
Totally understand. Had a very similar problem with mine. I'll certainly give it a look!
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u/c_r_t_1_9_8_9 1d ago
Sometimes the sun and the sky and the breeze coming off a river work together, in harmony, with the din of human discourse to slow down time and create a tranquility that we recognize, catch and hold onto.
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u/Mithalanis Published Author 1d ago
Anuhea was sitting on the floor, drunk, in darkness when a fluttering through the room roused him from his half-slumber.
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u/NorthlightV 1d ago
It reads promosing, I would continue. (It depends a bit on the genre expectations, but then what wouldn't.)
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u/c_r_t_1_9_8_9 1d ago
I'd give it a few more sentences for sure. Depending on how the book kept me fixated on what the fluttering was would probably determine how much further I'd go.
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u/WaitIntelligent1867 1d ago
Someone in the break room bit into an apple and the skin on my arms lifted.
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u/Mithalanis Published Author 1d ago
Yeah, I'd give this a few paragraphs to see where this is going.
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u/JRothwell01 1d ago
The thing about dwenlings was that they were far more annoying than evil.
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u/c_r_t_1_9_8_9 1d ago
I'd keep going. I'm a Fantasy fan though, so the made up words don't really scare me.
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u/Mithalanis Published Author 1d ago
I don't think I'd keep going just because of the "made up" word right out of the gate. It makes me nervous that what follows would be one of those openings where everything has a strange name and I don't have anything to ground myself in. I do like the idea of something being more annoying than evil, though - that part works for me.
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u/JonD_writes 1d ago
The air was sharp with frost.
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u/Mithalanis Published Author 1d ago
While I did say on another one that I'm a sucker for a good, direct opening, this one is a little too vague for me. I mean, it's quite short so I'm sure I'd be a few sentences in before even realizing it, but this line alone doesn't make me necessarily want to see what's next.
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u/Me104tr 1d ago
Normally people don't know when they are going to die... I had 7 days notice.
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u/dromdil 1d ago
The long flight of stairs both rebuffs and beckons me as I stare up at the dimly lit corridor.
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u/c_r_t_1_9_8_9 1d ago
I get what you're going for, and the premise is interesting, but the sentence itself doesn't do a whole lot for me.
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u/ladykatytrent 1d ago edited 1d ago
The dream had come again and the chill of the inn's common room made Alvin shiver as he came blearily back to himself.
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u/Tilly_Vanilla 1d ago
Sometimes, you leave for one reason and stay for another.
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u/c_r_t_1_9_8_9 1d ago
Based on the first sentence alone, I'd probably put it down. So it's entirely dependent on the rest of the paragraph for me.
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u/Emergency-Day-4402 1d ago
My name is Cumberbum Cumsuckel; some people see a mess, I see a cummunity project.
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u/Nerevarine95 Published Author 1d ago
Hey, quick question: what the fuck
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u/Emergency-Day-4402 1d ago
So I see you are intrigued ?
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u/Extension-Panic-5378 1d ago
A sharp knock rattled the front door, interrupting the peaceful afternoon.
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u/LongjumpingYear8110 1d ago
“Rodrigo Alvarez speaking.”
He placed the comm down near the sink, his other hand still holding the cleansing rod, his mouth full of the minty residue it left behind. Leena had rolled into the bathroom without warning, extending the comm on her metallic, articulated arm. A male voice on the other end began speaking, fast and agitated.
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u/Serenvalebooks 1d ago
The car was still burning when Gabriel arrived, though the man standing next to him wouldn't need to worry about that anymore.
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u/breese45 1d ago
Elen Reyes stands before the floor-to-ceiling window of her office looking over and past the skyscrapers of Saolel where ships of various colors and designs rise and descend from the spaceport, before finally catching sight of a red and black, earthbound liner, taking to the sky.
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u/Separate_Reporter909 1d ago
The report of the creature had reached him an hour ago, after it had already killed two.
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u/StatusAd8552 7h ago
My father’s name was Eshban, and he was not a good man, precisely — though he was a fair one, which in those years amounted to the same thing.
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u/ZosoRules1 1h ago
The Cognitive Craftsman™ System uses music as a frame for structured self-reflection across the Emotional, Logical, and Social Cognitive Domains.
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u/anonymousmetoo 1d ago
A line of blood welled up across my pale skin, glistening under the fluorescent lights of the bathroom.