It was a dark and story night...

One of the keys to writing a great book is to have a great opening line. Here is a small sampling of my personal faves:

*It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

Edward George Bulwer-Lytton Paul Clifford

*There once was a boy by the name of Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.

C.S. Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

*They met -- Colin and Julie --not very long before they were born.

Mildred Cram Forever

*It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice

*One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies.

O. Henry The Gift of the Magi

*It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

George Orwell 1984

*The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.

Samuel Beckett Murphy

*It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not.

Paul Auster City of Glass

*We started dying before the snow, and like the snow, we continued to fall.

Louise Erdrich Tracks

*I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.

Dodie Smith I Capture the Castle

What are some of your favorites?

Weekly Wednesday Writing Prompt

You're walking down the street one day when you nearly trip over an old skelleton key. Beside you is a strange door in the wall. You try the key in the ancient-looking keyhole and amazingly, it turns! Holding your breath, you swing open the door to find...

Spark Words

Today's Spark Word is:

TENACIOUS.

The Writing Life

Is it just me or has 2009 been passing incredibly fast? I apologize for majorly slacking as far as this blog is concerned, I've been so busy... But before I get to that, I want to thank all those who left such wonderfully sweet and encouraging comments on my last post! You really cheered me up and made me feel that the time I spend here is worthwhile. So I thank you very sincerely.

2009 has brought a few exciting surprises for me, the biggest of which was that we were able to remodel our spare bedroom into an office for me (it still has a bed in it, just in case we should get any visitors). I painted it a gorgeous shade of antique pale green with pale silvery white trim. The colors make me feel like I'm sitting in a place where a fairy tale is about to begin. It's breathtaking. My husband bought me a beautiful, cherry wood, rolltop desk -- my dream desk since I was a little girl -- and a matching chair. With our tax return we bought a new laptop with wireless capabilities which means I can move around and find a comfy place to sit and still be able to write from anywhere in the house. And for Valentine's Day he surprised me with a beautiful cherry wood two-drawer filing cabinent. So I'm basically all set with everything I could possibly need to really begin to pursue my dream of writing as a carreer. Not that you have to have all these things to write, but it sure is nice now that I do!

After a short holiday break, I did jump right back into the thick of revising a short, non-fiction story that I've been working on, a "slice of life" if you will. I have a mentor that's been working with me on it and I feel that it is almost ready to send out. Good thing, because my husband has given me a deadline: I have to have something in the mail by the end of the month or he's taking over my office! What can I say, I'm a perfectionist who can always find some little thing that still needs work, and not only that, but I'm absolutely unsure of myself, which keeps me from sending anything out. Thank God I have someone like him who not only loves and supports me completely but is also strong enough to give me the required boot out of the nest so that I can test my wings and see if I'm able to fly.

I'll keep you posted on what happens. And in the meantime, I'll get back to posting spark words and writing prompts that will hopefully encourage your imaginations to soar.