First Lines Meme
May. 31st, 2022 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miss_ingnoCrossposting this meme from tumblr, figured some here might also be curious to do it!
Finally hit 20 fics posted for Guardian, let’s gooooo! Got tagged by elenothar months ago, sorry -- I was waiting before doing this :’)
Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less
than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose
your favourite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favourite authors!
Tagging @ anyone who’s interested in playing. If you’re seeing this, you’re it!
1) Unacceptable (T, gen, 4.9k)
In the aftermath of Ye Zun’s defeat and the subsequent chaos ensuing in Dixing, Zhu Hong sat in the middle of a dusty street, cradling one of the four Hallows to her stomach.
2) Keep On Going (T, Weilan, 14.7k)
For all the eventualities and back-up plans Shen Wei had made to deal with Ye Zun's rebellion, he hadn't counted on coming out of the other end alive.
3) this is how the war is won (E, Kunwei, 30k)
Fu You tried to tune out the noises coming from inside the tent.
4) Good Vibrations (E, Weilan, 7.2k)
Zhao Yunlan surreptitiously watched Shen Wei over the rim of the magazine he was pretending to read.
5) Special Occasion (M, Weilan, 2.2k)
Shen Wei woke with a gasp, his hips jerking up instinctively.
6) Can’t Just Wait With Lives At Stake (T, pre-Weilan, 3.9k)
Zhao Yunan sat huddled underneath a desk inside the SID’s headquarters, listening to the field agents hurrying in and out.
7) Taken A Turn (T, gen, 3.6k)
Zhu Hong was lying on her stomach on the floor, paging through a fashion magazine, when Shen Wei returned.
8) No Man Left Behind (T, gen, 6.3k)
The problem with being a ranged fighter, Zhao Yunlan muses, is that he doesn't do well in close quarters.
9) Larger Than Life (G, gen, 700)
There used to be more members of the cat tribe than just Da Qing.
10) Shen Wei, Accidental Lesbian Whisperer (T, gen, WIP, 7.3k)
The first time she met Shen Wei was a misunderstanding.
11) Turn Up The Heat (E, Weilan, Lanzun, 10k)
Zhao Yunlan was rudely shaken awake by a hand on his shoulder.
12) In The Middle Of The Night (M, Weilan, 12.5k)
Shen Wei was strolling across the university campus after his late night classes finished; a misleading name considering they were always done before midnight.
13) Dark Stars, Burning Hearts (T, Weilan, 20k)
If anyone asked Zhao Yunlan how he imagined life after death, this wouldn’t have been his answer.
14) A Blade Of Grass (T, gen, 1.5k)
The door to your cell opens, and you flinch as light hits your eyes.
15) Mystery of the Locked Door Thief (T, Weilan & gen, 36k)
Zhao Yunlan was lying on the couch in the bullpen, pretending to read the latest missive from Xingdu Bureau.
16) What’s In A Name (G, gen, 3.4k)
Ruiying hadn't been to Dixing since she had been a little kid.
17) Headache (T, Weilan, 1.3k)
The headache kept throbbing behind his temples, the pulses of pain stretching along his forehead and across his scalp.
18) Peace and Prosperity (G, gen, 2k)
There were many things requiring Heipaoshi’s attention in the aftermath of Ye Zun’s failed coup.
19) Seas Cannot Be Measured (G, Weilan, 8.6k)
Teacher Wen was looking forward to a quiet lunch in the staff room, perhaps discussing the most recent episode of the romance drama she was watching with xiao-Song and Huang-ge.
20) After Hours (E, Weilan, 6.4k)
A knock on his office door had Shen Wei look up from his desk.
Generally, I think I tend to introduce the scene’s main character (usually the PoV character) and the setting their in, sometimes with hints of the situation of what’s happening. Who and Where seems to be my go-to introduction, and honestly, I think that’s pretty fair way to get started?
Sometimes it’s a little more philosophically, a lead-up to introducing the premise rather than the place it’s taking place, like with Dark Stars or Keep On Going. To some extent Peace and Prosperity, too. It’s interesting how it’s always the ones dealing with the aftermath of the finale in some way, KOG and PaP both in the political sense, DSBH more with the emotions and how to fix it with the time travel <.<
no subject
on 2022-05-31 08:59 pm (UTC)It's also interesting to me that not a single one of these opens with dialogue, which is something I know I often do. (Not as often as I used to, I think, but that's just a feeling.)
no subject
on 2022-05-31 09:56 pm (UTC)Ahhh, thank you! I'm glad you think so <3
Honestly I could see a dialogue first sentence easily, because I love dialogue, I'm not sure why I don't do it more often? :D as long as it's a decent hook for the reader, it works imo! (I probably just. don't feel that confident in my dialogue usually 😂 I tend to like my dialogue where someone has a witty rejoinder best, but that's not a good start? Unless... I guess an interrogation scene dialogue might work well... or... hmmmm...)
...yeah I'm gonna end up starting a couple fics with dialogue now lmao
no subject
on 2022-05-31 10:04 pm (UTC)Hee! :D
Yeah, an interrogation scene dialogue would definitely be an intriguing start!
I know in the past I've often started a canon divergence fic with a line of dialogue from canon, because that immediately situates it if the line is a memorable one. Idk why I don't do it as much any more ...
no subject
on 2022-06-01 01:51 pm (UTC)Ohhhhh! This makes so much sense :D my last big fandom didn't have a canon per se since it was RPF so this didn't even occur to me, I tend to start my canon divergence fic already in the moment of divergence usually, and not that two, three paragraphs before?
no subject
on 2022-06-01 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2022-06-01 06:13 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2022-06-01 06:27 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2022-06-01 08:43 pm (UTC)Your first sentences are really good at setting the scene. I didn't consciously notice that until you had them all lined up here.
no subject
on 2022-06-01 08:53 pm (UTC)Ahhh, thank you! I honestly didn't realize it consciously either, but I guess it makes sense? It's part of the hook, sure, but it also just. Situates the reader immediately? <.
no subject
on 2022-06-02 11:52 am (UTC)no subject
on 2022-06-03 01:27 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2022-06-04 04:12 am (UTC)no subject
on 2022-06-04 06:00 am (UTC)