We interrupt the Friendship in Curaçao series to bring you a must-read article in The Atlantic. Stephen King talks about the difference between voice and style, and that demon that haunts all of us writers: opening sentences, and why he spends so long (months, years even) working on them.
Go read it. I'll wait.
Done? Now pray tell: how do *you* handle your first sentences? Are you King-ish in the time you spend on them? Do your stories bloom from a fabulous opening, or do you get the story down and then work on the opening? Like King, do you remember any exceptional ones you've written? Feel free to share if so inclined :)
Quiet Laughter. Musings and stories on blurred cultural boundaries.
Not at all :)
ReplyDeleteAn opening line, for me, explodes out of my brain in the middle of the night, giving me an *image* of the opening scene, the characters,etc.
If I can still remember it when I wake up, I write it down and go from there.
If it's gone, well, then it wasn't strong enough :)
Wow, Ms. Monkey--I do believe Mr. King would agree that's the way it's done :) Thanks for stopping by!
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