FLASH FIRST LINES

I hear the words, “The first time I tried to kill myself, she checked on all my best friends to see how they were coping,” and I instantly had questions.

• The first time?

• Who is she?

• Why did she check on the friends? Were they all part of something?

• Does the speaker think she shouldn’t have?

• Should she have, perhaps, paid more attention to the speaker?

• What happened the next time?

... and so on.

This wasn’t an opening line. The radio discussion had been on in the background for a few minutes. This was the line that started me paying attention.

But imagine if it had been an opening line.

Writing flash fiction, you want to grab the reader’s attention as quickly as possible, but just being shocking won’t do it. You want a line that says something blunt, unusual, perhaps shocking, but which also leaves question in the reader’s mind – questions that will only ever be answered if they read your story.

Flash doesn't ask much of it's readers. If you catch their attention at first, then have them go a little further to see what you're talking about, they might as well read the whole peace. And it's up to you to make sure they aren't short-changed.

Some writers take their first line from the end of their story, then explain it. Others start in the midst of the action and let the reader fill in the back story on the run. But, in flash fiction, there is almost never time for the first line to be the lead-up to a story.

We have looked at firs lines in the past, but what first lines can you think of that draw a reader in with implied questions?