Writing--fiction writing in particular--should grab a reader's attention right away, usually in the opening lines. Though some readers are generous and give writers a chapter or two to "woe" them, it's usually a wrap for a work if the writer doesn't evoke some type of feeling in a reader on the first page. It was not until I started studying the art of writing that I realized that what made me want to turn to page 2, then to page 3 and 4 and 5, was that the writer had affected me. He or she evoked that "feeling." I've read some amazing literary works through the years and fortunately most are still with me. I want to share a few of the passages that either made me want to begin a journey or left me with a sense of satisfaction at the end of that journey. I hope you enjoy them too.
"Once upon any time, when a person in born, no matter what color of mankind you are, a body with a mind seeks for the truth of life. A way. A chest is opened for you, filled with many truths and things that pass as truths for you to find, pick, choose from, live your life with. Be the things you value ... ."
--prologue, In Search of Satisfaction (J. California Cooper)
"Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."
--ending, Animal Farm (George Orwell)
"Imagine the world was created beneath a canopy of silence. Perfect silence. While in my own personal silence I would create the world I dreamed of. A world full of love and absent of life's harsh realities. A world where all dreams would come true. A place called Perfect. But I've come to realize that some dreams you have to give up. I live in a world that promises to protect me but will not catch me when I fall ... ."
--opening, Just As I Am (E. Lynn Harris)
"Black woman, without asking how, just say that we survived our forced march and travail through the Valley of Slavery, Suffering, and Death--there, that Valley there beneath us hidden by that drifting mist...we had thought that our hard climb out of that cruel valley led to some cool, green and peaceful, sunlit place--but it's all jungle here, a wild and savage wilderness that's overrun with ruins. But put on your crown, my Queen, and we will build a New City on these ruins."
--ending, Soul On Ice (Eldridge Cleaver)
"My friend Jade claims that if you're dating a serial killer, he will, however subtly, let you know his intentions from date one. And if you are attracted to said serial killer, you will merely nod and smile at this admission, then promptly forget it."
--opening, Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend (Lynda Curnyn)
"... The morning weighs on my shoulders with the dreadful weight of hope and I take the blue envelope which Jacques has sent me and tear it slowly into many pieces, watching them dance in the wind, watching the wind carry them away. Yet, as I turn and begin walking toward the waiting people, the wind blows some of them back on me."
--ending, Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin)
"God, I wish I were thin. I wish I were thin, gorgeous, and could get any man I want. You probably think I'm crazy, I mean here I am, sitting at work on my own with a massive double-decker club sandwich in front of me, but I'm allowed to dream aren't I?"
--opening, Jemima J (Jane Green)
Do you have any good ones to share?
These are some of the best voices, and who would not want to follow them from prologue, or from opening page, and who would want the last line to finally appear. Tell me? Good writing like all good things should be savored and prolonged. Your musings are so serene and inspiring.
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you!
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