Kathy Reichs on First Lines
In a recent interview with Kathy Reichs, the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author, and inspiration for and producer of the hit FOX show BONES, I wanted to do something a bit different.
Kathy has been interviewed ...oh... a billion times so I thought it might be more fun to pick her brain on writing, particularly first lines, rather than talking about the release of Bones of the Lost. (remind me never to ask Kathy for a blurb!)
In American Book Review’s 100 Best First Lines From Novels, it lists the following as the best first lines ever written since 1970.
At #3 overall, we have: “A screaming comes across the sky.” —Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY’S RAINBOW (1973)
At #22, we have: “It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not.” —Paul Auster, CITY OF GLASS(1985)
And at #26: “124 was spiteful.” —Toni Morrison, BELOVED (1987)
Want to read on? I do. And read on now to understand what separates a good first line from a great one. Here’s Kathy on writing first lines and their importance:
She said, “An opening line is like a handshake with a stranger. One way or another, the interaction makes an impression. A first line provides a chance to startle, to intrigue, to amuse – to impact a reader enough to keep turning pages.”
I wanted to see if Kathy practiced what she preached and dug up the first lines of her novels:
From DEJA DEAD: “I wasn’t thinking about the man who’d blown himself up. Earlier I had. Now I was putting him together.”
From FATAL VOYAGE: “I stared at the woman flying through the trees.”
From DEVIL BONES: “My name is Temperance Deassee Brennan. I’m five-five, feisty, forty-plus, Multidegreed. Overworked. Underpaid. Dying.”
From MONDAY MOURNING: “As the tune played inside my head, gunfire exploded in the cramped underground space around me.”
From DEADLY DECISIONS: “Her name was Emily Anne. She was nine years old, with black ringlets, long lashes, and caramel colored-skin.”
From BONES TO ASHES: “Babies die. People vanish. People die. Babies vanish.”
From BARE BONES: “As I was packaging what remained of the dead baby, the man I would kill was burning pavement north toward Charlotte.”
Okay, that actually took me eight nights of compulsive reading to copy down *eye twitches*.
I love all of them, but I think my favorite is from BARE BONES. In a single line I have so many unanswered questions. I HAD to read on! And, I had to ask Kathy which was her favorite first line.
She said her favorite opening is:
“It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez, LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA.
Why? I asked.
You can read her answer with the rest of the interview over here!
Kathy has been interviewed ...oh... a billion times so I thought it might be more fun to pick her brain on writing, particularly first lines, rather than talking about the release of Bones of the Lost. (remind me never to ask Kathy for a blurb!)
In American Book Review’s 100 Best First Lines From Novels, it lists the following as the best first lines ever written since 1970.
At #3 overall, we have: “A screaming comes across the sky.” —Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY’S RAINBOW (1973)
At #22, we have: “It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not.” —Paul Auster, CITY OF GLASS(1985)
And at #26: “124 was spiteful.” —Toni Morrison, BELOVED (1987)
Want to read on? I do. And read on now to understand what separates a good first line from a great one. Here’s Kathy on writing first lines and their importance:
She said, “An opening line is like a handshake with a stranger. One way or another, the interaction makes an impression. A first line provides a chance to startle, to intrigue, to amuse – to impact a reader enough to keep turning pages.”
I wanted to see if Kathy practiced what she preached and dug up the first lines of her novels:
From DEJA DEAD: “I wasn’t thinking about the man who’d blown himself up. Earlier I had. Now I was putting him together.”
From FATAL VOYAGE: “I stared at the woman flying through the trees.”
From DEVIL BONES: “My name is Temperance Deassee Brennan. I’m five-five, feisty, forty-plus, Multidegreed. Overworked. Underpaid. Dying.”
From MONDAY MOURNING: “As the tune played inside my head, gunfire exploded in the cramped underground space around me.”
From DEADLY DECISIONS: “Her name was Emily Anne. She was nine years old, with black ringlets, long lashes, and caramel colored-skin.”
From BONES TO ASHES: “Babies die. People vanish. People die. Babies vanish.”
From BARE BONES: “As I was packaging what remained of the dead baby, the man I would kill was burning pavement north toward Charlotte.”
Okay, that actually took me eight nights of compulsive reading to copy down *eye twitches*.
I love all of them, but I think my favorite is from BARE BONES. In a single line I have so many unanswered questions. I HAD to read on! And, I had to ask Kathy which was her favorite first line.
She said her favorite opening is:
“It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez, LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA.
Why? I asked.
You can read her answer with the rest of the interview over here!
No comments have been added yet.
