The idea of this first exercise is studying one's initial response to a piece of work. The exercise is to grab your five favorite books off the shelf, write down the line or two of each on paper, and write about what made you appreciate that first sentence and want to read the book further. As much as I love this idea, I'm going a step further and expanding another 5 introductions, but to graphic novels since that is my end goal through this writing group.
1 "The rabbit had been run over minutes before. Its pink eyes were glazed and blood stained its clean white fur. Unnaturally clean fur, for it had just escaped from a bath."
Honestly I had to google the intro to this book because I could not find my copy quick enough and I believe there is a prelude chapter, but this line in certainly catching enough and a wonderful starter line. Obviously death catches most peoples' attention. The fact the subject is not a person but a rabbit plays on sympathy at first, but I feel making the subject an animal that has no established backround (like say Bambi's mother) makes the reader focus focus more on what this incident will establish for the rest of the story as opposed to dwelling on the incident itself.
2 "On the first evening in the back country, I skipped down the porch steps of the farmhouse - leaving my father inside and the radio playing and my small suitcase decorated with neon flower stickers unpacked - and wandered toward the upside-down school bus I'd spied from an upstairs window."
Alright the real reason I started reading this book is because of a movie trailer but that is beside the point. At first this sentence doesn't appear too wild until you continue reading and reach the part about the upside down bus. Although I realize you guys reading most likely have not read this book, I want to point out the wisdom of placing this scene in the beginning of the novel, as it has already established a slightly whimsical and strange world (the chronological beginning though also strange is shocking and depressing, and a probably a little too much to take it all at once). I happened upon this book fresh out of college when I felt more like a little girl then I have since leaving California. It was my first time feeling free to roam and explore anything I wanted to, including upside down school buses, and thus this novel spoke to me rather closely.
3 "Shadow had done three years in prison. He was big enough and looked don't-f**k-with-me enough that his biggest problem was killing time."
I didn't know what to expect with this novel. I bought it during the short period of my life where I had tons of money (compared to what I'm used to) few bills, and had no qualms with buying books because I thought the cover looked cool. The cover of this particular book is all in green hue and shows a lightning bolt hitting a farm house on a flat prairie. I have no clue how this will link to a man named Shadow currently in prison, and I'm assuming Mr. Shadow isn't in prison much longer throughout this book so I really want to know why he was in, and what adventure lies before him when he leaves. Also I love the ironic use of the word "killing" in this sentence.
4 "It was a flicker of clarity in the foggy realm of shadowy chaos, where nothing was quite what it seemed, and everything was inevitably more treacherous and dangerous."
I love a fantasy setting, especially when it dips into the dark realms and this sentence rather nails in the 'dark shadowy' setting by leaving out specific descriptions of landmarks or anything but rather describes what the setting represents. What is clarity in chaos and why is it embraced in this sentence?
5 "It begins, as most things begin, with a song."
I love how this opening leaves the feeling of the introduction neutral. Almost everyone loves music in one form or another, so there is no immediate prejudice with what kind of song it is, where it was sung. All the reader knows at this point is that this song will unleash a chain of events, and that is a powerful thing.
Tomorrow I will post the second half of this exercise along with some backround on progress with my art supply collection, and what minor projects I started.
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