Still thinking about the power of those opening few sentences in a novel and I came upon this, by author Beth Kephart, a writer whose prose I deeply admire.
http://beth-kephart.blogspot.com/2015/01/does-entire-book-lie-within-its-first.html
I love this idea that not only do those crucial first lines set the tone, they also encompass the book in miniature.
I think back to what I shared yesterday, the first sentence of my forthcoming FINDING PARIS. "My sister leans over me while I am trying to sleep." In many ways both large and small, this sentence reflects everything that happens after that. I'll be honest here and say that when I wrote it, I knew it felt like the right place to start, but I didn't think about it as containing the book in miniature. But I read that first chapter aloud at a book event the other night and I thought, hmmm. My subconscious is smarter than I am!
So today in between writing and other work, I am pondering this again.
Would love if you pondered with me!
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