The first five lines-meme
May. 21st, 2017 04:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scripsiI don’t really have the time for this right now, but I’ve noticed it popping up at my f-list, and couldn’t resist.
List the first five (or so) lines of your last 20 stories (or however many you have altogether. WIPs count). See if there are any patterns.
In order of newest first:
1.Falling, Versailles
Sophie de Clermont was scared. The fear had grown on her for days, every morning she had awoke in the hope she worried for nought, every night it had grown a bit more. She had tried to chase it away with hope and prayers, but now she knew she must accept what had happened. And it terrified her.
2. Professor Keller, Doctor Who
Alison met Peter Grey in the unlikely place of one of London’s cemeteries. She had lost her parents in a car crash when she was nineteen and she often visited their graves. A few times she ran into a blond man of her own age until one day he asked her to have coffee with him. Peter’s parents, it turned out, occupied the grave next to Alison’s. His mother had died when he was a small child and his father of a heart attack when he was twenty.
3. A Bewildered Heart, Versailles
Sophie de Clermont danced in the ballrooms of Versailles. She played cards, gossiped, embroidered, took walks, went to church and discussed hair and gowns and accessories with her friends. Always smiling, the same shy smile and blushing cheeks of the innocent girl she had once been. She often felt the sweet face she saw in her mirror belonged to someone else, someone who still cared for little else than for the excitement over a new pair of shoes.
And while she spent her time like the other ladies of court, Sophie watched everyone around her.
4. Only Forever, Labyrinth
Sarah woke up in the witching hour with a terrible feeling something was wrong. Sitting up in bed she tried to calm her beating heart, telling herself it had only been a bad dream. But the sense of wrongness didn’t feel like she had dreamt it, and fully awake the feeling of dread grew instead of fading away. She sat there, listening to the slow breathing of her partner. The night air felt cool and she shivered and thought she should to crawl back under the covers, cuddling close to the warm body next to her. But instead she looked out into the darkness, fighting a sudden urge to cry.
5. Nothing Interesting Ever Happens In Perivale, Doctor Who
Sarah Jane Smith had never heard of a place called Perivale until her editor asked her to go there. It seemed a lot of peculiar events had taken place there, ranging from several disappearances to murder and a string of cat mutilations. She had little luck in finding out more, as most people were reluctant to talk to her as soon as they realised she was a journalist. At long last she managed to interview one of the teenagers who has so mysteriously disappeared and returned, but found him oddly evasive. She knew there was a story worth pursuing here, but had almost resigned to not finding out more when the boy mentioned “the Doctor” and her interest peaked abruptly.
“The Doctor? A tall man with lots of teeth, curly hair and an absurd fashion sense?”
6. By Virtue of Boredom, Victoria
Sometimes, Lord Melbourne thought, it could be quite trying to be the advisor for a queen barely eighteen years old. Especially on beautiful days when a young girl can find so many other amusing things to occupy herself with rather than ruling a country. Far more entertaining diversions which beckoned when she had to spend all the day locked up with her advisor. Lord Melbourne adored his Queen, but in the end he was only a man, and after several long hours with a fretting girl, even he felt a mounting irritation. Her mind was elsewhere, but the day's work had to be done, nevertheless.
7. But A Dream, Victoria
Lord Melbourne has a daydream he indulges in now and then. It’s an innocent dream which harms no one. In it his Queen decides to never marry. She will rule her country in splendour, but alone, growing wiser and greater. Though not a wife, she will be content with being the mother of an empire. In this dream he will stay at her side forever.
8. Juliana and John, The Man In the High Castle
Juliana had known going to the Greater Nazi Reich was a bad idea. But circumstances, unexpected and uncontrollable had made this the only available solution. It proved to be a mistake very quickly when her hiding place was suddenly swarmed with men in uniforms, and she was arrested. After a day in a cell, Juliana was bundled into a prison van with no explanations. She quickly lost track of the days.
9. The Raven King’s Ball, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Emma Wintertowne longed to go to a ball. She wanted to dance in a white muslin gown with a wreath of pink roses in her hair. The handsomest gentleman would be her cavalier and everyone would look at her in awe and admiration. But when you can’t take more than a few steps without coughing, dancing can not even be contemplated. Instead she poured over the dance manuals, memorized the steps, learned the music, and danced in her daydreams. When death gave her back to life, she came filled with energy and though she had never taken a dance step before, she found she knew them all as if she had been drilled since childhood.
10. Show Me, Versailles
It was late at night and most of the occupants of Versailles were asleep, but Sophie de Clermont stood in her chamber and stared into a mirror. She had been summoned and had changed her clothes, putting the same care into her appearance as if she was to go to a ball. Her gown was new, but not in the silks and velvets she usually favoured, but soft wool in warm shades of green. It was not meant to be worn on a grand, formal occasion, and instead of a boned bodice the fabric was pleated around her body, held into place only by a belt with a jewelled clasp.
11. Born Anew Born Anew, Penny Dreadful
She woke up, laying on her back in a narrow bed. Staring up at a ceiling she thought she recognised, dimly lit by flickering candlelight. The air felt cool in her lungs and her heartbeats were slow and heavy. Where was she? Who was she?
12. Arabella’s Visit, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
"Oh!” Miss Flora Greysteel said. “Oh dear!”
Arabella Strange looked up from her novel. The drawing room was suddenly filled with the scent of pine and windblown moors. It was a delightful smell, decidedly invigorating. She smiled at her friend.
13. Ghosts/a>, The Mummy series
Evelyn ran. Her heels clicked against the floors, faster and faster. Around her there were the sound of other feet, walking quickly in all directions. There were screams and moans and soothing voices, but she barely heard them. She didn’t notice the stench of blood and vomit and sharp disinfectants either, but she could feel the strength of many people’s pain and anguish like a blow to her senses.
14. Happily ever After, Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
Anastasia tries to be good, and she tries hard. It’s a struggle to be the woman she wants to be and not slide back to the one she was. Every day she has to bite her lips to choke back a cruel remark. Or simply use magic to spirit away an obstacle, regardless if said obstacle is a person or a thing. Some days it’s so difficult she feels she can never really change.
15. Requesting Comfort, Agent Carter
Years later, Peggy could only remember fragments of the first few hours after the disaster at Isodyne Energy. Mr Jarvis and Ana fussed over her, offering a number of comforts. She declined all of them except a hot bath, claiming the need for sleep early in the night. But in her bedroom she couldn’t even bear to lie down on the bed. She sat in the armchair, staring at the pristinely made bed.
16. An End To Journey TowardA Letter Concerning DragonsDarkness and LightWill Haunt Evil (For A Modest Fee), Penny Dreadful
“Welcome, welcome, to the Vanessa Ives Foundation, please step inside. You must be Miss Ivy Pearson, I understand you have a little problem of a, ah, special nature. My name is Renfield and I am to give you a little tour of our facilities before you decide if you want our services, or not. You will meet Sir Malcolm a little later, he is at a meeting at the moment.
As you know we have been in business for a few years now and we have largely been successful.
20. Melody’s New Year, Doctor Who
In 1999, when most people thought Melody was ten, her adoptive parents surprised her with a holiday in Los Angeles to celebrate the new millennium. Melody didn’t want to go. She wanted to spend New Year with Amy and Rory- they were currently having a big debate if the computers would break down or not in 2000. She and Amy thought they wouldn’t, Rory was convinced they would and Melody wanted to see his face when they didn’t.
Well, I would say that most, as in seventeen fics, start of with a mention of the main character by name, and a short description of mood, action or looks. The Raven King’s Ball differs a little as it has an ensemble cast, and Born Anew as the main character’s name isn’t mentioned at once. Apart from those fics, two starts with dialogue, and one is written as a letter. I feel Professor Keller and Julaina and John starts of a bit awkwardly- the writing improves later on. I’m partial to the opening lines of Ghosts and Arabella’s Visit. :) But I’m usually pleased with my beginnings- it’s the endings which are my downfall!
It’s also obvious how hopelessly multi-fannish I am, as those twenty fics are in twelve fandoms.
List the first five (or so) lines of your last 20 stories (or however many you have altogether. WIPs count). See if there are any patterns.
In order of newest first:
1.Falling, Versailles
Sophie de Clermont was scared. The fear had grown on her for days, every morning she had awoke in the hope she worried for nought, every night it had grown a bit more. She had tried to chase it away with hope and prayers, but now she knew she must accept what had happened. And it terrified her.
2. Professor Keller, Doctor Who
Alison met Peter Grey in the unlikely place of one of London’s cemeteries. She had lost her parents in a car crash when she was nineteen and she often visited their graves. A few times she ran into a blond man of her own age until one day he asked her to have coffee with him. Peter’s parents, it turned out, occupied the grave next to Alison’s. His mother had died when he was a small child and his father of a heart attack when he was twenty.
3. A Bewildered Heart, Versailles
Sophie de Clermont danced in the ballrooms of Versailles. She played cards, gossiped, embroidered, took walks, went to church and discussed hair and gowns and accessories with her friends. Always smiling, the same shy smile and blushing cheeks of the innocent girl she had once been. She often felt the sweet face she saw in her mirror belonged to someone else, someone who still cared for little else than for the excitement over a new pair of shoes.
And while she spent her time like the other ladies of court, Sophie watched everyone around her.
4. Only Forever, Labyrinth
Sarah woke up in the witching hour with a terrible feeling something was wrong. Sitting up in bed she tried to calm her beating heart, telling herself it had only been a bad dream. But the sense of wrongness didn’t feel like she had dreamt it, and fully awake the feeling of dread grew instead of fading away. She sat there, listening to the slow breathing of her partner. The night air felt cool and she shivered and thought she should to crawl back under the covers, cuddling close to the warm body next to her. But instead she looked out into the darkness, fighting a sudden urge to cry.
5. Nothing Interesting Ever Happens In Perivale, Doctor Who
Sarah Jane Smith had never heard of a place called Perivale until her editor asked her to go there. It seemed a lot of peculiar events had taken place there, ranging from several disappearances to murder and a string of cat mutilations. She had little luck in finding out more, as most people were reluctant to talk to her as soon as they realised she was a journalist. At long last she managed to interview one of the teenagers who has so mysteriously disappeared and returned, but found him oddly evasive. She knew there was a story worth pursuing here, but had almost resigned to not finding out more when the boy mentioned “the Doctor” and her interest peaked abruptly.
“The Doctor? A tall man with lots of teeth, curly hair and an absurd fashion sense?”
6. By Virtue of Boredom, Victoria
Sometimes, Lord Melbourne thought, it could be quite trying to be the advisor for a queen barely eighteen years old. Especially on beautiful days when a young girl can find so many other amusing things to occupy herself with rather than ruling a country. Far more entertaining diversions which beckoned when she had to spend all the day locked up with her advisor. Lord Melbourne adored his Queen, but in the end he was only a man, and after several long hours with a fretting girl, even he felt a mounting irritation. Her mind was elsewhere, but the day's work had to be done, nevertheless.
7. But A Dream, Victoria
Lord Melbourne has a daydream he indulges in now and then. It’s an innocent dream which harms no one. In it his Queen decides to never marry. She will rule her country in splendour, but alone, growing wiser and greater. Though not a wife, she will be content with being the mother of an empire. In this dream he will stay at her side forever.
8. Juliana and John, The Man In the High Castle
Juliana had known going to the Greater Nazi Reich was a bad idea. But circumstances, unexpected and uncontrollable had made this the only available solution. It proved to be a mistake very quickly when her hiding place was suddenly swarmed with men in uniforms, and she was arrested. After a day in a cell, Juliana was bundled into a prison van with no explanations. She quickly lost track of the days.
9. The Raven King’s Ball, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Emma Wintertowne longed to go to a ball. She wanted to dance in a white muslin gown with a wreath of pink roses in her hair. The handsomest gentleman would be her cavalier and everyone would look at her in awe and admiration. But when you can’t take more than a few steps without coughing, dancing can not even be contemplated. Instead she poured over the dance manuals, memorized the steps, learned the music, and danced in her daydreams. When death gave her back to life, she came filled with energy and though she had never taken a dance step before, she found she knew them all as if she had been drilled since childhood.
10. Show Me, Versailles
It was late at night and most of the occupants of Versailles were asleep, but Sophie de Clermont stood in her chamber and stared into a mirror. She had been summoned and had changed her clothes, putting the same care into her appearance as if she was to go to a ball. Her gown was new, but not in the silks and velvets she usually favoured, but soft wool in warm shades of green. It was not meant to be worn on a grand, formal occasion, and instead of a boned bodice the fabric was pleated around her body, held into place only by a belt with a jewelled clasp.
11. Born Anew Born Anew, Penny Dreadful
She woke up, laying on her back in a narrow bed. Staring up at a ceiling she thought she recognised, dimly lit by flickering candlelight. The air felt cool in her lungs and her heartbeats were slow and heavy. Where was she? Who was she?
12. Arabella’s Visit, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
"Oh!” Miss Flora Greysteel said. “Oh dear!”
Arabella Strange looked up from her novel. The drawing room was suddenly filled with the scent of pine and windblown moors. It was a delightful smell, decidedly invigorating. She smiled at her friend.
13. Ghosts/a>, The Mummy series
Evelyn ran. Her heels clicked against the floors, faster and faster. Around her there were the sound of other feet, walking quickly in all directions. There were screams and moans and soothing voices, but she barely heard them. She didn’t notice the stench of blood and vomit and sharp disinfectants either, but she could feel the strength of many people’s pain and anguish like a blow to her senses.
14. Happily ever After, Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
Anastasia tries to be good, and she tries hard. It’s a struggle to be the woman she wants to be and not slide back to the one she was. Every day she has to bite her lips to choke back a cruel remark. Or simply use magic to spirit away an obstacle, regardless if said obstacle is a person or a thing. Some days it’s so difficult she feels she can never really change.
15. Requesting Comfort, Agent Carter
Years later, Peggy could only remember fragments of the first few hours after the disaster at Isodyne Energy. Mr Jarvis and Ana fussed over her, offering a number of comforts. She declined all of them except a hot bath, claiming the need for sleep early in the night. But in her bedroom she couldn’t even bear to lie down on the bed. She sat in the armchair, staring at the pristinely made bed.
16. An End To Journey TowardA Letter Concerning DragonsDarkness and LightWill Haunt Evil (For A Modest Fee), Penny Dreadful
“Welcome, welcome, to the Vanessa Ives Foundation, please step inside. You must be Miss Ivy Pearson, I understand you have a little problem of a, ah, special nature. My name is Renfield and I am to give you a little tour of our facilities before you decide if you want our services, or not. You will meet Sir Malcolm a little later, he is at a meeting at the moment.
As you know we have been in business for a few years now and we have largely been successful.
20. Melody’s New Year, Doctor Who
In 1999, when most people thought Melody was ten, her adoptive parents surprised her with a holiday in Los Angeles to celebrate the new millennium. Melody didn’t want to go. She wanted to spend New Year with Amy and Rory- they were currently having a big debate if the computers would break down or not in 2000. She and Amy thought they wouldn’t, Rory was convinced they would and Melody wanted to see his face when they didn’t.
Well, I would say that most, as in seventeen fics, start of with a mention of the main character by name, and a short description of mood, action or looks. The Raven King’s Ball differs a little as it has an ensemble cast, and Born Anew as the main character’s name isn’t mentioned at once. Apart from those fics, two starts with dialogue, and one is written as a letter. I feel Professor Keller and Julaina and John starts of a bit awkwardly- the writing improves later on. I’m partial to the opening lines of Ghosts and Arabella’s Visit. :) But I’m usually pleased with my beginnings- it’s the endings which are my downfall!
It’s also obvious how hopelessly multi-fannish I am, as those twenty fics are in twelve fandoms.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-21 07:33 pm (UTC)Yes, that does seem to be a pattern! But, to be honest, with fanfic where they familiar characters are the focus, it's a good way to get on and draw the reader in.
NOthing wrong with being multi-fannish! ;-)
no subject
Date: 2017-05-22 05:46 pm (UTC)