April 19, 2010 
DG&B 
The biggest news in publishing this week is that the London Book Fair is barely happening because of cursed Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull which, thanks to the NY Times, I can now pronounce!
But really, I can only say so much about that, so instead, let’s have a contest!
You’ve all surely heard that agents make decisions really fast, and if we aren’t entranced by your writing within 6.2 seconds or somesuch, we’ll just move on to the next thing. This is, for the most part, entirely true. So let’s see how quickly you can win us (and your fellow blog readers) over. Post the first line of your manuscript in the comments below by the end of the day on Thursday, 4/22. I’ll narrow it down to a select group of finalists, and then we’ll have a poll for you to judge who had the best, most intriguing first line.
The winner gets to have their full manuscript considered by yours truly. You don’t even have to query!
Bring it on! And in the meantime, enjoy this hysterical NPR link about mishaps that has nothing to do with anything.
A loud, sharp knock at the open doorway startled Lieutenant Derrick “Toons” Hutchinson just as he was finishing a cup of his favorite, blueberry, yogurt.
LOL Fun contest.
Ronnie’s friends noticed the two men entering the yard because they stood out in their black suits, but Ronnie noticed them because she couldn’t poke into their minds to see who they were and what they wanted, and that had never happened before.
From JOURNEY – YA fiction:
It was all fun and games, until Ashley fell over the cliff.
Before my eyelids crack open I know it has happened again.
"I had to choose between the angel and the mermaid."
Now I'm off to learn how to pronounce that volcano name.
It began with a fire, Aisa told me once, and it grew with a kiss.
Here goes:
"I stood at the urinal staring at the crudely made sign announcing the upcoming company-sponsored blood drive when the man in the stall next to me started talking to himself"
"She ran and panic choked her as her heart thumped painfully against her chest."
From- HEARTSOULS- epic fantasy
Great contest and some intriguing posts. The first line of my manuscript:
Novak smelled her before he saw the body.
It started with the weak voices of a few scattered shoots of grass.
Nine astronomical units into space should be enough time to figure out the mystery of who I’m supposed to be.
So many AMAZING first lines. Thanks for holding this contest!
"I cannot stomach the coast."
Contemporary women’s fiction (contrary to how the first line sounds, it isn’t a romance novel :))
"She was so beautiful, sitting in the desk in front of his podium, always smiling, asking questions, flipping her long chestnut hair and laughing…the sound so contagious."
Thanks for a neat contest:
Auntie Jayne with a Y is the root of all my problems.
"The longest journey of my life began with an argument about chips."
Ooh, I want to play!
First line: Forget writer's block, artist's block was a bitch.
I need a good therapist, an astrologer, or at least another pair of eyes – better yet, an army of winged monkeys.
I stood with my paws hanging over the side of the door, my head stuck out the window and my nose pointing into the wind.
Mine is the above post. It is MG. Is that genre allowed?
Echo – YA suspense
The monotonous sound of the television set seeped into Olivia Mariner’s ears.
I was a tree shaking in a terrible storm but the wind was inside my body.
From my historical novel:
Almost a year to the day after Didymus's father sold him into slavery, the Nabataean sent the other slave, a Jewish man named Nathaniel, to the great city of Petra to purchase a pair of camels for his caravan.
There must have been at least 1,000 people.
Thank you for this contest! Here is my first line:
When I was born, all of the demons in Hell cashed in their chips to vie for me.
Margay
My husband had circled an unusual newspaper ad, "handsome, young man seeking to escort experienced, wealthy woman" and penciled in: You can have this guy, I get Uma Thurman.
I certainly hope these multi-sentence "first sentences" are disqualified. I'm sure we all would love to show the first two or three sentences of our manuscript, but those aren't the rules.
Though Barry was no stranger to failing, the current scale of failure impressed even him.
"The red numbers haunted me."
First line: “Hey, Dad? It’s Taylor. Um, I’m kind of in jail.”
Genre is YA
First line from my YA fantasy, Weavers:
The worst part of spending three years in and out of sleep clinics is having to room with the chronic bedwetters.
I knew things were bad when I had to pee in the woods and I couldn’t even get that right.
First line from a crime novel:
This was the uncertain part of Keith Kardain's job, not knowing if or when he'd have to kill someone.
From my teen novel THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ROBBIE TAY:
Lightning flashed several times in quick succession, like an anime cartoon.
From my novel: Quest For the Best
When I was a kid you didn’t spend time worrying about your future because things were pretty well set.
From my YA urban fantasy:
"I raged. I attacked. I conquered. Oh, please, who was I kidding? I’m a lazy ass."
Checking my Email and Facebook accounts is like an addiction for me.
She was naked,abso-freaking-lutely naked.
–From my paranormal mystery "Shadow World."
RK
"Disappearing can be so inconvenient."
"Shana is dead and it's all my fault."
Standing fully clothed under a cold shower when you are pissed off is nothing less than stunning.
From my narrative nonfiction/memoir:
When the sky outside began to darken the neonatalogist entered the room – she had dark brown skin, darker brown eyes, and glided quietly across the room like a shadow.
Here's my first line:
"My biggest fear in life was finding out God didn't exist. But after what I've done, my biggest fear is finding out he just might."
Hope you like it.
Here's mine:
I was part of a building complex in New York City whose seven buildings were destroyed on September 11, 2001.
This is the first line from my contemporary YA novel, Butterfly With Broken Wings.
If you had told me a few years ago that in the near future I would lose my independence and everything that defined me, I’d have called you crazy.
Laura Ann Dunks
When your best friend’s a werewolf, things can get interesting.
If I could say only one thing, it would be this – you chose your life.
From THE NANCY WHO DREW – a memoir
From my mystery novel:
"The color pink, no matter what the shade, had never done me any favors; today was no exception."
First line:
He waited.
One abstract string binds me to Padre; a mutual exchange of knowledge.
Horror
Thank you for the opportunity.
I don't know if "end of day" means end of business day or midnight, but here goes just in case:
I was wearing pink Converse at prom.
Thanks!