Fanfic First Line Meme

[rusty_armour]

I grabbed this meme off 2of7's LJ when she wasn't looking. She snagged it from lavvyan. I have no idea where lavvyan got it from.

Post the first line from your 25 most recent fanfics and try to find a pattern.

By some bizarre twist of fate, I have exactly 25 stories on my hard drive, which came as a huge surprise to me considering that I'm such a sloooow writer. Well, actually, I've written more than 25 stories, but my earliest fic is somewhere in my parents' basement. I'm hoping these stories were either thrown out by accident or spontaneously combusted. Anywaaaaay, I've basically posted this list of first lines in the order in which the stories were written (e.g. the crappiest to the least crappiest fic).

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"As Constable to the King, it is my duty to decide both of your fates and to pronounce whatever sentence I see fit," spoke William Brewer to the two lords who sat side by side below him. (Children of the Wheel (Robin of Sherwood))

"God's throat!" cursed Robert de Rainault, throwing down the letter he had just received. (Robin Hood and the Sheriff's Mother (Robin of Sherwood))

She was beginning to regret her choice. (Children of the Wheel II (unfinished fic) (Robin of Sherwood))

The day had seemed so promising when it began. (The Varlet (Robin of Sherwood))

The innkeeper stood in the doorway of his tavern and smiled contentedly. (Silent Knight (Robin of Sherwood))

The knight brought the wine cup to his lips and sipped, studying the empty hall in approval. (The Knight's Charges (Robin of Sherwood))

Agent Doggett flipped through an issue of National Geographic, his eyes wandering aimlessly through the pictures, his brain no longer digesting the information. (On the Outside Looking In (The X-Files))

As Doggett followed Scully through the hospital and out into the parking lot, he dreamed about the long bath he was going to take back at the hotel. (Home (The X-Files))

Balancing her briefcase, a bottle of orange juice and a danish, a very pregnant Agent Scully entered the office at 8:43 am. (Let Sleeping Doggetts Lie (The X-Files))

"So because the rate of domestic violence has risen in Nede, Pennsylvania, Mulder thinks this is an X-File?" (A Little Knowledge (The X-Files))

The grass was cool and soft beneath her feet, the blades tickling her toes. (Deliver Us From Evil (The X-Files))

Much perched miserably in the tree. (The Last Squire (Robin of Sherwood))

Their swords were locked. (Love Me Not, Cruel Lady (unfinished and unposted fic) (Robin of Sherwood))

"Ensign, what's our status?" (Speak No Evil (Enterprise))

Captain's Log: November 12, 2151 -- Despite an almost fatal bout with hypothermia, Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed appear to be on the mend. (Land of the Living (Enterprise))

He watched his captain blink as the bright rays of the afternoon sun hit him square in the face. (Timepiece (Enterprise))

The target was in range. (Mad Klingons and Englishmen (Enterprise))

Enterprise's chief engineer sat in the deserted mess hall, absorbed in his PADD. (Circumventing Authority (Enterprise))

The slender rope would twist into a loop, its frayed end diving through the ring, before the circle would close. (The Reckoning (Robin of Sherwood))

He didn't realize it was possible, but Chef had apparently found a way to re-sequence the baked potato. (Standing Down (Enterprise))

“My God, I’ve killed them.” (Lost Souls (JAG))

My grandfather once told me that dreams are only a pale reflection of the waking world. (No Matter What the Cost (Enterprise))

Carson stared at it in fascination and revulsion. (In the Family Way (WIP) (Stargate Atlantis))

If someone had told O'Neill when he first met Samantha Carter that she would one day be the leader of an international expedition in another galaxy, he probably would have laughed in their face. (Thankless (Stargate Atlantis))

Colonel John Sheppard was a little put out, but not entirely surprised, when he stepped through the Stargate and, instead of ending up in the gateroom on Atlantis, found himself on a shiny silver surface. (To Boldly Go Where No Action Figure Has Quite Gone Before (Stargate Atlantis)).

---

To be honest, I'm not really sure if I can find a pattern or, at least, an overall pattern. I can certainly spot certain trends for some of my opening lines. In the case of five stories, I started off with a line of spoken dialogue. In fact, I'm surprised that I didn't begin more of my stories that way, as I often like to start off scenes with a line of spoken dialogue. In a couple of other cases, I was apparently trying to hook readers right off the bat by writing something fairly shocking (such as the "My God, I've killed them" opening line from Lost Souls). With some of my other openings, it looks like I was trying to entice people by confusing them -- with the intention of making them want to read more to figure out what was happening, I assume (e.g. the "She was beginning to regret her choice" opening line from Children of the Wheel II or the "Carson stared at it in fascination and revulsion" opening line from In the Family Way). I'm sure there are other patterns (such as the number of stories with boring opening lines), but I'm too lazy to search for them.

Comments

[windrose.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, you wrote ENTERPRISE fic? Why didn't I know this? *is huge Connor Trinneer fangirl*

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

LOL! Oh, yeah. I was a huge Enterprise fan, though I was a Dominic Keating fangirl myself. *g* Still, Trip always played a fairly big role in most of my stories. Did you ever write any Enterprise fic yourself?

[windrose.livejournal.com]

Nah, I never wrote anything for that fandom. But I have read some of the fic. Can't say I'm much of a Dominic Keating fan, though. Sometimes, meeting the actors can be a detriment. :P

[njc2007.livejournal.com]

"Captain's Log: November 12, 2151 -- Despite an almost fatal bout with hypothermia, Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed appear to be on the mend. (Land of the Living (Enterprise))"

I really must read this one. I need to find out what happens on my 188th birthday. LOL

You are a heck of a lot more prolific than I am. Of course, I've never attempted fanfic. I probably never will. I prefer to come up with my own characters. I think I'm frightened that I will stray outside both canon and established character traits. Kudos to you for your proliferateness. (Not a word; but I wanted to use it anyway.)

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

"Captain's Log: November 12, 2151 -- Despite an almost fatal bout with hypothermia, Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed appear to be on the mend. (Land of the Living (Enterprise))"

I really must read this one. I need to find out what happens on my 188th birthday. LOL

Oh, cool! I hadn't realized that November 12, 2151 would be your 188th birthday! *g* Well, I hope you enjoy it if you are brave enough to read it. It's basically a post-ep for "Shuttlepod One" if you're familiar with the episode.

You are a heck of a lot more prolific than I am. Of course, I've never attempted fanfic. I probably never will. I prefer to come up with my own characters. I think I'm frightened that I will stray outside both canon and established character traits. Kudos to you for your proliferateness. (Not a word; but I wanted to use it anyway.)

I quite like "proliferateness". I think it should totally be a word. *g* It's funny but I honestly hadn't realized that the number had grown so high. I thought it was somewhere in the teens, not the twenties. However, the majority of the fic (with the exception of "Children of the Wheel," which dates from '94) was written in the span of about ten years, so I'm not really as prolific as I seem. I know there are tons of fic writers who have written much more than I have and probably in a shorter period of time.

I admire you for sticking to original fiction. That's really what I should be doing. Unfortunately, I just don't have any ideas I want to pursue at the moment and I keep getting drawn back to fic. However, one of these days, I will return to writing material with original characters. Until then, I figure I can still hone my skills with fic.

[njc2007.livejournal.com]

"I admire you for sticking to original fiction. That's really what I should be doing. Unfortunately, I just don't have any ideas I want to pursue at the moment and I keep getting drawn back to fic."

Lack of ideas is rarely a problem for me. I have so many competing ideas that I usually can't decide which to pursue. I have restricted myself to writing only one manuscript each year (for NaNoWriMo) and editing the rest of the time. Of course, with a move coming up and running my own business, I really don't have time for much else. In fact, I haven't edited my last two manuscripts yet.

Every word we write is practice that improves our craft. So, keep up the fanfic writing.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

As I still need to finish off "In the Family" way and kind of started working on a Doctor Who story, then I probably will keep up the fanfic writing for a bit longer. However, one of these days, I really should try to get back into writing original fiction. I should probably participate in NaNo as that would force me to churn out a manuscript.

I hope you manage to find time to return to writing (and editing completed manuscripts) once your life is a little less hectic.