Remember a couple years ago when we were all going back to our old projects at critiquing our opening lines? It’s that time again! Writing/blogging buddy Krystal Jane recently posted her new collection, and someone on Twitter just asked about favorite blog posts, so here we go for Round Two. I’ll pick up where I left off and see if I’ve actually gotten any better at this. (I’m guessing not.)
Here’s Part 1 to recap, from July of 2017 (apologies for the text colors, a casualty of the site redesign)
Hunting Astrid is still brand new and sparkly and shiny, so let’s see how my latest release fares under the microscope.
“There you are. You almost missed all the fun.”
“Sorry I’m late.” Astrid hurried into the room and wheeled her chair out from underneath her desk. “Some sort of malfunction with the train. We were stuck for half an hour.”
Her coworker Lily snorted without taking her eyes off the screen in front of her. “So much for the best technology this corner of the galaxy has to offer.”
Hello, sci-fi! I’ve become a fan of starting stories in the middle of a conversation, like here. Not the snazziest, not the worst. I promise things pick up quickly in this opening chapter.
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How about some fanfic? I did write a lot for Fire Emblem: Three Houses over this summer, which kicked my motivation for my original works into gear. Here’s the opening for the first one, which was actually the first fanfic I wrote in quite a few years.
Aelfric couldn’t understand the strange looks and hushed whispers that had followed him around like an irritating swarm of bugs over the course of the evening. After all, why wouldn’t he have wanted to attend Sitri and Jeralt’s wedding? It was a joyous occasion, one the monastery didn’t often host. Such love should be celebrated, he declared to himself.
Not gonna lie, I’m kind of digging that first line. And a note to anyone who’s played the FE3H DLC: FUCKIN’ AELFRIC, MAN, AMIRITE!? (i rite.)
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Let’s take a look at Fire Beyond the Frost, whose long journey to publication has been chronicled here. To recap: the book was published a year ago after sitting on the shelf in need of a good cleaning for a few years. Before that, parts of it were originally a story written for a former friend’s role-playing forum. I have no idea what got edited when, so here’s a collection of words that were written sometime in 2019, 2013, and/or 2011.
Dr. Catalina Frost looked out the small window of the spaceship. A few men from the crew scurried around the launch pad of the Blackhill Spaceport. The vessel would be departing within moments. A pleasant female voice came over the intercom, informing the passengers to move toward their seats and prepare for takeoff.
All right, so we know Catalina’s going somewhere, which is kind of the point of the whole book. Not too bad. I don’t hate myself.
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Rewinding a little farther, here’s the intro to Closing Montage.
The large brown box sat on the doorstep, unremarkable, cast by the shadows of the dwindling sunlight. My heart raced as I pulled the car into the driveway. Though I couldn’t see any writing or labels from where I sat, I knew it didn’t contain another shipment of medical supplies or more useless gifts from well-wishers. This package was special.
You know, this one’s better than I remembered it. It drops plenty of hints about the upcoming story, plus it has an element of mystery: what’s in the box???
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Lastly, because I like odd numbers for these types of lists, I’ll give you a sneak peek at my WIP, Elemental Forces.
“On your left!”
Meg dove to the opposite side, tucking and rolling across the dusty field. The small dragon she’d been battling followed after her, but before it could launch another attack, Ronan brought his sword down on the creature’s neck. The sharp blade sliced its head clean off and it fell to the ground, sunlight glinting off its reddish scales as it gradually stopped twitching.
DRAGONS! FUCK YEAH! I wasn’t lying when I said I like starting in the middle of the action sometimes. You know what I also like? DRAGONS!
So there’s my latest compilation. Nothing downright awful in here, unlike last time, so maybe I am getting slightly better at this. One can dream, anyway!