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That first lines meme (from everywhere)
As seen all over the place: Post the first line from your 25 most recent fanfics and try to find a pattern.
Going back to Sept. 30 of last year:
1. The infirmary lay still and silent, dark but for the soft glow of a few muted lamps. Colors Seen by Candlelight
2. Whales can't see colors, not in the human-visible spectrum. A Clear and Different Light
3. The tent that the Kurgi provided for them was a lot smaller than John had expected -- at least, it certainly felt small with four people, four packs and, from the feel of things, about ninety-seven elbows crowded into it. Sleepover
4. Ronon is stuck underground for two days after his interview with the IOA, waiting on the Daedalus and going out of his mind with morbid speculation about Midway. Waiting Game
5. In the Chieftain Osori Memorial Library at the heart of Sateda-Mari, there are -- or, rather, were -- no less than four hundred twelve different translations of the Thainaid Tales. Selena of the Bears (Aesop's Choose Your Own Adventure Remix)
6. John woke slowly, in brief moments of lucidity wrested from the dark fog of drugged sleep. But For the Grace
7. The ceiling was white. Knights Errant
8. Ronon's roomed with Aiden since their freshman year in college. Luck of the Draw
9. "Sgt. Tanaka - Hit on a Wraith" The Pegasus Galaxy Darwin Awards
10. The whitewashed buildings of the Matawnee prison complex sprawled beneath a pitiless noonday sun. Even Bonnie and Clyde Had Off Days
11. At first the dark rider seemed no more than another mirage, a heat shimmer rising from the desert under the inverted bowl of a cloudless white-hot sky. The Great Pegasus Train Robbery
12. "About damn time we got to visit M2X-373," Rodney says, walking backwards for a few steps so that his words carry to everyone -- including, Teyla thinks, the birds in the trees, and possibly the Ancestors as well. Second Verse (Same as the First)
13. There were few things in life more frustrating, Radek reflected, than trying to find a get-well card for someone who'd saved your life, but who could also kill you in a few hundred different ways, and probably had no idea what greeting cards even were. untitled Valentines fic #1
14. After spending most of her adult life in the Air Force, and ten years of that at the SGC, Sam had become something of a connoisseur of hospital ceilings. untitled Valentines fic #2
15. "Let me see if I understand this correctly," Teyla said in her most patient, "you people are completely insane" voice. untitled Valentines fic #3
16. John's mornings on Atlantis had a comfortable routine. untitled Valentines fic #4
17. It was going to be the most embarrassing obituary ever, Rodney thought dazedly. Cold Comforts
18. It was only 9 a.m., and Elizabeth already had a headache: specifically, a headache named Rodney McKay. In For Stormy Weather
19. Unlike some of the McMurdo pilots, John didn't mind playing air taxi for tourists and researchers. Between the Lines
20. "Shut the door, Sheppard; it's freezing out there!" Safe
21. For a woman whose life's work had involved adding copious notes to her co-workers' personnel files, Kate Heightmeyer's own file turned out to be short and sparse. And To Dust They Return
22. "You cannot honestly think you can keep her here, Janus." Five Ways They Cheated Death (In Our Universe)
23. They walk behind him, or to the side, never in front. In Heaven and Earth
24. It took him a week to find it again. Follow the Sun to the Ends of the World
25. Teyla waited as long as she could, until Dr. Zelenka came to her where she stood on the balcony outside Elizabeth's office, gazing through the shield at the blackness of space. Tie a Scarlet Ribbon
What have I learned from all of this?
Well, first of all, my archiving skills suck. Not all of my stories are posted at my website, not all of them were announced in my journal, or weren't properly tagged if I did - and my lack of date-tagging on the website doesn't help at all. I really had trouble getting these in chronological order, and now I'm guiltily aware that I haven't updated my website since last December and really should do that soon, too.
Anyway. My first lines don't seem to be terribly interesting, in general. I'm just not really an experimental writer -- not that I don't enjoy working with words, but my stories are basically vehicles to convey plot, character and idea, not so much works of art in and of themselves. (Actually seeing all of my first sentences laid out like that is making me aware of how much trimming they could really use. Takeaway message from this exercise for myself: Pay more attention to wordcraft! Cut the fat!)
I'm most comfortable with third person, past tense ... which I already knew. Occasionally I'll do present tense for a mood piece, but it's not something I feel like I could sustain over a long story.
If I were asked which characters I find most enjoyable/easiest to write, I'd say Rodney and Teyla, but I seem to write Sheppard a whole lot more than I'd realized. First sentences, sorted by character viewpoint:
John - 8
Ronon - 4
Teyla - 4
Rodney - 3
Sam - 2
Elizabeth - 2
Radek - 1
... plus one I have no idea how to categorize.
Some of these I really like; others make me wince and think "I could do better". It's actually very useful, seeing them isolated like this. I'll have to remember that for future writing.
Going back to Sept. 30 of last year:
1. The infirmary lay still and silent, dark but for the soft glow of a few muted lamps. Colors Seen by Candlelight
2. Whales can't see colors, not in the human-visible spectrum. A Clear and Different Light
3. The tent that the Kurgi provided for them was a lot smaller than John had expected -- at least, it certainly felt small with four people, four packs and, from the feel of things, about ninety-seven elbows crowded into it. Sleepover
4. Ronon is stuck underground for two days after his interview with the IOA, waiting on the Daedalus and going out of his mind with morbid speculation about Midway. Waiting Game
5. In the Chieftain Osori Memorial Library at the heart of Sateda-Mari, there are -- or, rather, were -- no less than four hundred twelve different translations of the Thainaid Tales. Selena of the Bears (Aesop's Choose Your Own Adventure Remix)
6. John woke slowly, in brief moments of lucidity wrested from the dark fog of drugged sleep. But For the Grace
7. The ceiling was white. Knights Errant
8. Ronon's roomed with Aiden since their freshman year in college. Luck of the Draw
9. "Sgt. Tanaka - Hit on a Wraith" The Pegasus Galaxy Darwin Awards
10. The whitewashed buildings of the Matawnee prison complex sprawled beneath a pitiless noonday sun. Even Bonnie and Clyde Had Off Days
11. At first the dark rider seemed no more than another mirage, a heat shimmer rising from the desert under the inverted bowl of a cloudless white-hot sky. The Great Pegasus Train Robbery
12. "About damn time we got to visit M2X-373," Rodney says, walking backwards for a few steps so that his words carry to everyone -- including, Teyla thinks, the birds in the trees, and possibly the Ancestors as well. Second Verse (Same as the First)
13. There were few things in life more frustrating, Radek reflected, than trying to find a get-well card for someone who'd saved your life, but who could also kill you in a few hundred different ways, and probably had no idea what greeting cards even were. untitled Valentines fic #1
14. After spending most of her adult life in the Air Force, and ten years of that at the SGC, Sam had become something of a connoisseur of hospital ceilings. untitled Valentines fic #2
15. "Let me see if I understand this correctly," Teyla said in her most patient, "you people are completely insane" voice. untitled Valentines fic #3
16. John's mornings on Atlantis had a comfortable routine. untitled Valentines fic #4
17. It was going to be the most embarrassing obituary ever, Rodney thought dazedly. Cold Comforts
18. It was only 9 a.m., and Elizabeth already had a headache: specifically, a headache named Rodney McKay. In For Stormy Weather
19. Unlike some of the McMurdo pilots, John didn't mind playing air taxi for tourists and researchers. Between the Lines
20. "Shut the door, Sheppard; it's freezing out there!" Safe
21. For a woman whose life's work had involved adding copious notes to her co-workers' personnel files, Kate Heightmeyer's own file turned out to be short and sparse. And To Dust They Return
22. "You cannot honestly think you can keep her here, Janus." Five Ways They Cheated Death (In Our Universe)
23. They walk behind him, or to the side, never in front. In Heaven and Earth
24. It took him a week to find it again. Follow the Sun to the Ends of the World
25. Teyla waited as long as she could, until Dr. Zelenka came to her where she stood on the balcony outside Elizabeth's office, gazing through the shield at the blackness of space. Tie a Scarlet Ribbon
What have I learned from all of this?
Well, first of all, my archiving skills suck. Not all of my stories are posted at my website, not all of them were announced in my journal, or weren't properly tagged if I did - and my lack of date-tagging on the website doesn't help at all. I really had trouble getting these in chronological order, and now I'm guiltily aware that I haven't updated my website since last December and really should do that soon, too.
Anyway. My first lines don't seem to be terribly interesting, in general. I'm just not really an experimental writer -- not that I don't enjoy working with words, but my stories are basically vehicles to convey plot, character and idea, not so much works of art in and of themselves. (Actually seeing all of my first sentences laid out like that is making me aware of how much trimming they could really use. Takeaway message from this exercise for myself: Pay more attention to wordcraft! Cut the fat!)
I'm most comfortable with third person, past tense ... which I already knew. Occasionally I'll do present tense for a mood piece, but it's not something I feel like I could sustain over a long story.
If I were asked which characters I find most enjoyable/easiest to write, I'd say Rodney and Teyla, but I seem to write Sheppard a whole lot more than I'd realized. First sentences, sorted by character viewpoint:
John - 8
Ronon - 4
Teyla - 4
Rodney - 3
Sam - 2
Elizabeth - 2
Radek - 1
... plus one I have no idea how to categorize.
Some of these I really like; others make me wince and think "I could do better". It's actually very useful, seeing them isolated like this. I'll have to remember that for future writing.