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I swear I never thought I'd say this, but I'm toying with the idea of starting my very first novel. I'm excited but admittedly also terrified at the same time. My entire life, I've been a lover of fiction. That's why I studied English and Creative Writing in college and went on to become a book editor, and while I wrote creatively a little bit in college, I've always preferred being on the editor side of the table. But recently an idea struck me that I've been exploring tentatively developing into a novel.

So today I got inspired to do something a bit out of my comfort zone and a bit different; I'm going to evaluate five different opening lines from books that I've loved, then I'm going to try to emulate that strategy and create my own first lines.

1. Establish a conflict

The first opening strategy that I noticed is to establish a conflict with your opening line. Here's the first line of The Guest List by Lucy Foley:

The lights go out.

What I love about this opening line is how simple it is. It plays on one of the classic tropes in a mystery story: the lights going out and someone presumably getting killed. Thinking back, I actually had a murder mystery party for my 13th birthday where we did exactly that. I turned the lights off, and then that was the cue for whoever was supposed to die to scream.

This line immediately sets the plot in motion and signals to the reader that something bad is about to happen. We naturally want to keep reading to see how that conflict is going to play out, so opening with a point of conflict immediately creates a situation in which the reader wants to continue reading to see what resolution comes. Conflict is what propels the reader to continue reading throughout the entire story. That's why anytime the conflict wanes, the plot can lose momentum, and the reader can become disinterested.

It's especially important to introduce conflict in the opening scenes of your novel to get the reader hooked, and doing so in the first line is even better. So let's see if I can write a first line that establishes conflict right off the bat. I have a vague idea for what I want my opening scene to be, but I haven't written any of it yet. I think maybe something like this could be interesting:

Matt is on hold with Delta trying to push our flight home by two days, and all I can think about is the dog.

I'm trying to create some tension here between what Matt wants and what the narrator wants. I'm not sure that that's quite right, but we'll stick with it for this first one.

2. Introduce the protagonist in an intriguing way

Here's the opening line of Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid:

That night, when Mrs. Chamberlain called, Emira could only piece together the words “... take Briar somewhere…” and “... pay you double.”

This opening line immediately introduces our protagonist, Emira, and shows some of her relationship with Mrs Chamberlain, who is presumably her employer. We are immediately curious to learn more about who Briar is and why Mrs. Chamberlain is willing to pay her double. We're also intrigued to see if Emira is going to take Mrs. Chamberlain up on this offer and what might happen.

This opening encourages us to continue reading and learn more about these characters’ relationships. This technique works well to immediately make your reader invested in your main character and their journey. If you can make the reader care about your protagonist from the very first line, then you're going to be off to a really strong start.

Now the hard part: how do I do this? My novel is written in first person, so I want the opening line to reveal something interesting about my main character. Something like:

Every morning before Matt wakes up, I check his phone to see how many unread texts he has.

Similar to the strategy Kiley Reed uses, it introduces a dynamic between two of the main characters, and it tells us something specific about my main character; that she's either untrusting or a bit obsessive or holds a tight leash in this relationship.

3. Set up a mystery

Celeste Ng does this in her novel Everything I Never Told You. Here are the opening lines:

Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet.

Technically, this is two sentences rather than just the opening line, but it is one thought. It immediately poses a host of questions for the reader. Who is Lydia? How did she die? Why don't others know about it yet? It creates suspense, because we as the reader are in a situation where we know more than the characters do, so we're eager to see what will happen when the characters find out this information.

The strategy of setting up a mystery with your opening line works especially well in suspense and thriller novels but could be used across any genre. Because the novel I'm writing is suspense, this could be a good technique for me. That said, I don't want to open with the crime itself, so maybe I can set up a lower scale mystery to play with. Something like:

Our complimentary bottle of champagne is gone.

Admittedly, this is a much lower stakes mystery than “Lydia is dead,” but it still does create some questions for the reader and maybe will make them want to continue reading.

4. Describe the setting

The next opening line technique is to describe the setting. Riley Sager does this really well in Final Girls. The opening line of that novel is:

The forest had claws and teeth.

This line immediately places us in the setting of the forest, and it effectively uses figurative language in an interesting way. Saying that “the forest had claws and teeth” creates an ominous, foreboding tone right from the start.

A strong setting description in your opening line can draw readers into your story, especially if you're able to tell them something interesting or specific about the setting or character's environment. Let me try one out:

The resort boasts the most gourmet on-mountain cuisine in the Alps and the fewest deaths per year.

We get two specific details about the setting that we're in, which is a resort of some kind. First, we learn about its luxurious offerings and second, we learn that it has the fewest deaths per year, which I hope makes readers wonder why deaths at the resort would even be a question.

5. Make an unexpected statement

Here's a good example from The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller:

Things come from nowhere.

This line is so thought-provoking because it presents something that is seemingly impossible. How can things come from nowhere? Doesn't everything come from somewhere? So we immediately want to know what things the narrator is talking about, and I think this opening line does a good job of establishing the character's ruminative headspace at the start of the story.

Using an unexpected or surprising statement can catch readers off-guard in an intriguing way. This makes the reader curious to learn more about the backstory behind that statement and how it applies to the character's situation. So let me try to come up with one. Two of my primary characters are married, so I figure maybe I'll use that for the unexpected statement:

Marriage is a delusion.

That immediately signals to the reader that marriage is going to play a role in the ensuing story and hopefully is an unexpected statement that piques their interest. After all, marriage is not supposed to be a delusion. It is obviously supposed to be a very real thing.

Okay, I will admit that was a lot harder than I thought, but now I need your help choosing between these five opening lines. The first one introduced a conflict:

Matt is on hold with Delta trying to push our flight home by two days, and all I can think about is the dog.

The second one focuses on the protagonist:

Every morning before Matt wakes up, I check his phone to see how many unread texts he has.

The third one sets up a mystery:

Our complimentary bottle of champagne is gone.

The fourth describes the setting:

The resort boasts the most gourmet on-mountain cuisine in the Alps and the fewest deaths per year.

And the final one makes an unexpected statement:

Marriage is a delusion.

Which opening line do you like the best?

A compelling opening line is essential to hook readers and set the tone for your novel. Whether your strategy is to establish conflict right from the jump or vividly describe the setting, I hope these techniques help you create a strong foundation for your own story.

Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!