In the Beginning...

Never under estimate the power of that first opening line. Or, paragraph, or page, or even chapter. Like ADD kids with shiny objects, you have to grab your reader's attention, and you must fight to keep it every step of the way. But as LaVar Burton said, "Don't take my word for it." So here are some of my favorite opening lines, and if you haven't read the books, you should.

"Sometimes, I worry that I'm not the hero everyone thinks I am." Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson.

"Linderwall was a large kingdom, just east of the Mountains of Morning, where philosophers were highly respected and the number five was fashionable." Dealing with Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede.

"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun." The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.

"In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three." Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones

Out of these four books only one had a prologue. There is no back story, no endless explaining. All of these follow the most important rule in writing. Hook your reader. And not just with their first, wonderful, opening sentence. But their words capture you through the entire story and hold you fast. The opening line makes a promise to the reader, that what captured them in the beginning, will only get better the farther they read.

What are your favorite opening lines? How do they grab you? And how do your own openings compare?