British novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) sat in his study in Gads Hill near Rochester, Kent circa 1860. He wrote one of the best first lines in literature. Great opening lines to books set the ...

Some sentences do more than begin a story. They shatter something. They rearrange the air in the room, and nothing about how you read - or think - is ever quite the same again. Literature is full of ...

In the same vien as the Bulwer-Lytton contests, and inspred by one of FreeRadical*'s posts in the Random Thread. Give us the opening sentence for your Great Novel. The classic example: "It was a dark ...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” That’s right, Charles Dickens is still the GOAT when it comes to literary openings, thanks to the absolute banger of a sentence that kicks off A ...

A great introduction is fine art, crafted with great care and purpose. A first impression matters. If the reader never reads past the first paragraph, he will never read your brilliant narrative or ...