The 20 First Lines Thing
Oct. 22nd, 2016 02:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nightdog_barksFrom topaz_eyes a week or so ago. :D
Rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories. See if there are any patterns.
1) "What are you doing?" House says, although it's pretty obvious what Wilson is doing with that silvery tri-fold contraption. (Heat Wave)
2) The man in the northwest corner bed has two names on his chart, each followed by a question mark. (The Heart Could Wish)
3) "Rev'rend," the voice whispers, low and urgent in House's ear. (Kingdom Come)
4) The naked man runs through the park. (Symbiosis)
5) "You're sure this isn't because of me and Sam?" (Down to the Sea in Ships)
6) It was the way it had been everywhere -- once people recognized her, they moved faster than she could have commanded them. (You're Getting to Be a Habit (with Me))
7) “Here, tonight, on The Story Behind the Sound, a legendary rocker gives an unprecedented look at the complicated friendship and tragic loss that ultimately propelled him to fame. (Prism)
8) It's not until weeks after the accident, when they're finally sure Wilson's sight isn't coming back, that the other shoe drops. (Blind Spot)
9) It's after midnight when Mitzi Gaynor dies, and three in the morning when Wilson stumbles back into his dark, deserted office and stands there, swaying a little from exhaustion as he stares into the shadows. (A Devil Put Aside)
10) "You're sure you left Cuddy a note?" (Looking Glass)
11) "Tip the guy, Godfrey," Wilson says, and House looks around, partly because he's tired and he's momentarily forgotten that his name is Godfrey Powell here, and partly because what, it's always Wilson's job to do the tipping. (Countdown)
12) "Fine," Wilson says. (All Who Wander)
13) His next-door neighbor has a daughter who looks like Rachel. (Let the stories be told (they can say what they want))
14) Oddly enough, it's the leaves Wilson misses most. (Northern Light)
15) If there's a lonelier place than a laundromat in East Deadville, Nowhere, on Christmas Eve, House doesn't know it. (O Little Star of Wash-and-Go)
16) It's about to start raining. (American Gothic)
17) He's just standing there, innocently, wondering if he should pay attention to the voice in his head whispering "Put the strawberry Sno-Balls back on the shelf, otherwise it will only encourage him," and so he doesn't really hear what the little girl pelting down the aisle toward him is saying until it's too late and she's wrapped herself around his legs. (Will It Go Round in Circles)
18) More often than not, he sleeps in the same bed with Wilson. (Come Around Again to Find)
19) It's after he's treated old Mrs. Magnusson's cows for mange, and he reaches across the truck cab because the driver's side flip-down visor is broken and the sun's shining in his eyes that he realizes it's gone. (Changing Pastures)
20) "No," Wilson says, and "no" again. (A River Out of Eden)
Bonus 21) Wilson's dead, and that's what House had expected. What he hadn't expected was finding copies of all those damn postcards on Wilson's netbook. (Wish You Were Here)
So there they are! And I have to say right off that #2 and #7 are ringers, because I'm PRETTY SURE they were both written by Blackmare. :D
Otherwise, I'd say I've got a pattern of either going short or going long -- there's no in-between. And I think I like to ... what are the words I'm looking for here ... place the setting in the first sentence. Almost all of them lead into something -- House's neighbor has a kid who looks like Rachel. So where's House living? Who's his neighbor? Someone who's obviously a vet has lost something. Is he going to find it? If it's trees that Wilson's missing, where is he? I never consciously thought I was trying to draw the reader in from the first line, but maybe I am. :D
topaz_eyes a week or so ago. :DRules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories. See if there are any patterns.
1) "What are you doing?" House says, although it's pretty obvious what Wilson is doing with that silvery tri-fold contraption. (Heat Wave)
2) The man in the northwest corner bed has two names on his chart, each followed by a question mark. (The Heart Could Wish)
3) "Rev'rend," the voice whispers, low and urgent in House's ear. (Kingdom Come)
4) The naked man runs through the park. (Symbiosis)
5) "You're sure this isn't because of me and Sam?" (Down to the Sea in Ships)
6) It was the way it had been everywhere -- once people recognized her, they moved faster than she could have commanded them. (You're Getting to Be a Habit (with Me))
7) “Here, tonight, on The Story Behind the Sound, a legendary rocker gives an unprecedented look at the complicated friendship and tragic loss that ultimately propelled him to fame. (Prism)
8) It's not until weeks after the accident, when they're finally sure Wilson's sight isn't coming back, that the other shoe drops. (Blind Spot)
9) It's after midnight when Mitzi Gaynor dies, and three in the morning when Wilson stumbles back into his dark, deserted office and stands there, swaying a little from exhaustion as he stares into the shadows. (A Devil Put Aside)
10) "You're sure you left Cuddy a note?" (Looking Glass)
11) "Tip the guy, Godfrey," Wilson says, and House looks around, partly because he's tired and he's momentarily forgotten that his name is Godfrey Powell here, and partly because what, it's always Wilson's job to do the tipping. (Countdown)
12) "Fine," Wilson says. (All Who Wander)
13) His next-door neighbor has a daughter who looks like Rachel. (Let the stories be told (they can say what they want))
14) Oddly enough, it's the leaves Wilson misses most. (Northern Light)
15) If there's a lonelier place than a laundromat in East Deadville, Nowhere, on Christmas Eve, House doesn't know it. (O Little Star of Wash-and-Go)
16) It's about to start raining. (American Gothic)
17) He's just standing there, innocently, wondering if he should pay attention to the voice in his head whispering "Put the strawberry Sno-Balls back on the shelf, otherwise it will only encourage him," and so he doesn't really hear what the little girl pelting down the aisle toward him is saying until it's too late and she's wrapped herself around his legs. (Will It Go Round in Circles)
18) More often than not, he sleeps in the same bed with Wilson. (Come Around Again to Find)
19) It's after he's treated old Mrs. Magnusson's cows for mange, and he reaches across the truck cab because the driver's side flip-down visor is broken and the sun's shining in his eyes that he realizes it's gone. (Changing Pastures)
20) "No," Wilson says, and "no" again. (A River Out of Eden)
Bonus 21) Wilson's dead, and that's what House had expected. What he hadn't expected was finding copies of all those damn postcards on Wilson's netbook. (Wish You Were Here)
So there they are! And I have to say right off that #2 and #7 are ringers, because I'm PRETTY SURE they were both written by Blackmare. :D
Otherwise, I'd say I've got a pattern of either going short or going long -- there's no in-between. And I think I like to ... what are the words I'm looking for here ... place the setting in the first sentence. Almost all of them lead into something -- House's neighbor has a kid who looks like Rachel. So where's House living? Who's his neighbor? Someone who's obviously a vet has lost something. Is he going to find it? If it's trees that Wilson's missing, where is he? I never consciously thought I was trying to draw the reader in from the first line, but maybe I am. :D
no subject
Date: 2016-10-23 11:51 pm (UTC)(Also they make me feel a little nostalgic for House--how many fics I missed when I dropped away.)
no subject
Date: 2016-10-28 08:33 pm (UTC):D