tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676691386361883927.post7677025182145580156..comments2024-02-28T12:45:42.761-05:00Comments on Hoosier Ink: What God DidThe ACFW INDIANA Chapter Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07282742986179364847noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676691386361883927.post-35182926439552789412012-03-31T08:48:22.226-04:002012-03-31T08:48:22.226-04:00I'm skipping the comments because I want to gi...I'm skipping the comments because I want to give the only one I know of (other than the Bible) -- the second is from "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe".<br /><br />Other good hooks: I can't quote it, but "When Eight Bells Toll" by Allistair MacLean has a great opening, with the hero knowing a gun was focused on him (this story was first person narrative.)<br /><br />Then, there's one I started reading, "The Shadowed Mind" by Julie Harris: "He looked utterly ordinary." That got me reading on. <br /><br />And going back to Lewis' Narnia series, can one outdo the opening of "The Voyage of the Dawntreader"? "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it."<br /><br />JeffJeffrey C. Reynoldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03260244563274650475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676691386361883927.post-26072256570455141332012-03-30T13:07:47.110-04:002012-03-30T13:07:47.110-04:00Karla, you're right on all counts. Thanks for ...Karla, you're right on all counts. Thanks for playing! Wish I had a prize to give you. :-)<br /><br />I guessed the ANNE OF AVONLEA one correctly, also, and I confess to loving long sentences, having written some longer than 100 words. I'm hoping long sentences return to vogue. Writing conventions seem always to be in flux.<br /><br />I didn't guess the Angelou quote because I'm more familiar with her poetry than her prose.<br /><br />As for walking among the stacks and reading first lines, that's a delightfully delicious literary habit and one that can be quite edifying.<br /><br />Glad you enjoyed the post.<br /><br />Write on!<br />Because of Christ, <br />SharonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676691386361883927.post-71266484170641745502012-03-28T22:32:39.877-04:002012-03-28T22:32:39.877-04:00Book 1 is The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe; The...Book 1 is The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe; The second is The Tiger Rising (I think); book 3 is Little Women. And the last one is from Because of Winn Dixie. Oh, Kate DiCamillo! She's one of my favorite children's authors! I'm a huge fan. <br /><br />Okay, I'm going to play "find a first line." These aren't from my favorites, just ones I could think of and could find in my kindle real quick: <br /><br />How is this for an opening sentence? <br /><br />"Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow, fringed with alders and ladies' eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back in the woods of the old Cuthbert place; it was reputed to be an intricate, headlong brook in its earlier course through those woods, with dark secrets of pool and cascade; but by the time it reached Lynde's Hollow it was a quiet, well-conducted little stream, for not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde's door without due regard for decency and decorum; it probably was conscious that Mrs. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof." -- Lucy Maude Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables<br /><br />We can't write long opening sentences like that today! :-) But I love that book.<br /><br />Here's another good first line, definitely makes you want to read more: <br /><br />"When I was three and Bailey four, we had arrived in the musty little town, wearing tags on our wrists which instructed--"To Whom It May Concern" -- that we were Marguerite and Bailey Johnson, Jr., from Long Beach, California, en route to Stamps, Arkansas, c/o Mrs. Annie Henderson." -- Maya Angelou, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings<br /><br />Maya Angelou. Her writing is like sparkling crystal. I can read her over and over again and not grow tired of marveling at her word-weaving ways.<br /><br />One of my favorite things to do is walk through the library, pull books off the shelves and read first lines. It's a secret pastime and now the secret's out. <br /><br />Great post! I really enjoyed it. And your website sounds delicious!Karla Akinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16989639592455525499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676691386361883927.post-58255858781492004222012-03-28T21:43:58.988-04:002012-03-28T21:43:58.988-04:00Keep praying, Mary. I've come to realize that ...Keep praying, Mary. I've come to realize that our blogs are, or can be, ministries. When I get an idea, I tend to jump on board and drive forward with it. Counter to my normal MO, I waited on the Lord to give me direction. I wasn't really even conscious I was doing that. Then He, as you said, gobsmacked (or should it be "God-smacked") me. I've learned His timing is always best.<br /><br />Write on!<br />Because of Christ,<br />Sharon (who can only comment as "Anonymous" unless the comment window is a pop-up)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676691386361883927.post-13674110680507090352012-03-28T10:06:17.801-04:002012-03-28T10:06:17.801-04:00Sharon, how wonderful. Wow, I've been mulling ...Sharon, how wonderful. Wow, I've been mulling and mulling ideas for a website for a long time. I pray I get gobsmacked by an idea as terrific as this, and soon.Mary Marie Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07140800346217363866noreply@blogger.com