#when i say 'fifth-grade level prose' it's not self-deprecating: my sentence-to-sentence writing is very simple

[lazuliquetzal]

Opening Line Tag Game

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. Chose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

tagged by @theinternationalacestation.

I'm just gonna go ahead and do 10 stories because I'm not touching the fic I wrote in high school.

Can't wait to see how Predictable and Formulaic I am! Let's go!

Opening Lines:

“Hey, Sanada. You gonna come to practice today?” At the sound of his name, Sanada Shunpei tears his gaze away from the classroom window. When he finds himself back in reality, his teammate is sitting on the desk in front of him, arms crossed and a judgmental frown on his lips. (Sophomore Slump)

Miyuki’s having a water break when he hears the tell-tale signs of chaos happening over on the other field. So naturally, he has to drop everything to go see what all the fuss is about. (AA Batteries)

Sawamura will readily admit that he has a prejudice against city folk. (Theseus' Paradox)

"Psst. Wake up." [A/N: This one was actually a drawing.] (Blackout Blues)

Fuming at the sight, Takumi takes the soccer ball into his hand and kicks it with pinpoint accuracy. It hits Yuuto square in the back. (An Idiot's Guide to Defeating Writer's Block)

“Whatcha got there, Sawamura?” Sawamura, sitting cross-legged on the floor, looks up to see Kuramochi leaning over him. In response to the question, he holds up the item in his hands and beams with pride. (Candid)

Gertrude stares across at the uncomfortable young man sitting in her office. He’s eyeing her desk with something close to disgust, scowling at the loose papers and the organized chaos of the Archives. (Reflection)

As soon as I step out of the Academy classroom, Ume steps close and grabs my shoulders. Kazuki hovers just beside her. “You passed, right?” Ume asks, eyes deadly serious. (Denial and Deterioration)

First rule about writing fanfiction: you don’t talk about writing fanfiction. (B.N.F.)

Duke is in the middle of his post-school nap when an incessant buzzing interrupts his dreams. His hand snakes out and snatches the phone off of his nightstand. This had better be good. (oh, where do i begin?)

Disclaimer: Some of these are dialogue, so technically some of these are two lines, but I tend to think of these as units. So I think it still counts.

My Personal Favorite

"Sawamura will readily admit that he has a prejudice against city folk." is my personal favorite! The story it's from is not, but I like the snappiness and the Instant Character.

General thoughts:

WELL, I don't consider myself a very technical writer, so I'm not surprised that many of these are just straight-up dialogue and direct thoughts lmao. Do you want to know where the characters are? What the setting is? Do you want something memorable and poetic? Too bad! All you get is my fifth-grade level prose!

I am... not deliberate with my opening scenes. At all. I actually have no clue how I start stories: I sit down, the first scene appears, and then I reread the scene and decide if I can continue it or not.

If I had to analyze myself: I like starting off with dialogue because 1) it's safe, dialogue is my comfort zone, and 2) I exposit through dialogue. If you look at the speaking lines above, they're mostly questions. And even if you go to the other fics, you'll see that I generally enter the dialogue with a relevant question. That's because (opinion incoming) small talk shouldn't exist in fiction unless absolutely necessary. Ask your questions, get your answers!

I think it's nice to start off with answers. Specifically, I think it's nice to start off with wrong answers --

ajfd I don't think my opening lines are necessarily 'strong' which is something I may have to experiment with in the future.

UHH, TAGGING?? don't feel pressured also if you want to do this and i didn't tag you just go ahead and consider yourself tagged @blaizekit @dragonwarriorwriter @xxsolar-writesxx @ellie-tarts