Wednesday, August 8, 2012

August First Line Grabber #9

TITLE: VERITAS
GENRE: YA Sci-fi

I race past door after door until they blend into the white walls.

66 comments:

Lydia Netzer said...

Yes. Strikes me as an original way to describe running down a hall -- enough to make me read on.

erin said...

Yes. I like the description and the voice. I also want to know why the MC is running.

B.E. Sanderson said...

Yes. It shows promise - why is the character running past a bunch of doors? why are the walls white? Makes me think of a psych ward and then I want to know more.

Roan said...

No. I am a little bit lost in this sentence. I don't entirely understand what's happening.

Ellie Heller said...

No. I want to be more invested in the character, not just see an action they are taking. Think about adding in a thought or emotion as they are taking this action.

Kelly Allan said...

NO. I feel lost.

Stacey Hays said...

No. Makes no sense.

Anonymous said...

No: I get it but it's a little bland

janealfalor said...

Yes. I like the description and want to know why the MC is racing and why there are so many doors. Though I'm hoping it's not a dream.

Shakier Anthem said...

Yes... but I'd need something more than a description of setting very soon.

Stephanie Garber said...

No. Since I don't know who your narrator is, I don't really care about why they are running.

Janice Sperry said...

No. I don't know who they are or why they're running.

Stacey Trombley said...

No.

Confusing. I guess I get what you're trying to say, but it doesn't come across easily. Not to me, at least.

Anonymous said...

No. Feel like you're telling me something I should already know about and I don't.

Susie said...

No, it's just a bit meh for me.

Charlee Vale said...

No. It tells me what's happening to your character, but not your character's state of mind about it.

Holly Bodger said...

No. First of all, if the doors are blending into the walls, how does he see them? Second, if he's really racing, he doesn't have time to watch the walls and doors.

Chro said...

No. I'm not intrigued by someone running -- I'm intrigued by what they're running FROM.

ElectraCute said...

No. The words don't invite me to read more.

Alaina said...

No. It only describes the setting, and that's a bit bland.

Bill Scott said...

Yes. I can make it to the next sentence to see why.

Utsav said...

Yes, its a good description and sets up the fleeing/chase nicely.

Utsav said...

Yes, its a good description and sets up the fleeing/chase nicely.

Jade said...

Yes
I like the imagery and I'm interested in why he or she is running.

SMKrafty said...

Yes, but just barely. I'd be REALLY hooked if I knew whether 'I' was fleeing or racing to something.

JaneDoe said...

No. Not grabbing me.

the type writer said...

No. I'm not pulled in. I want to know more about what the character is feeling not so much about what he/she's seeing. Just me though.

zolosolo said...

No. Too generic. What makes this MS different than any other book that starts with the character pursuing or being pursued?

A Little Push said...

No, it just didn't pull me in. Seems like we've been dropped into the middle of an important scene without knowing the characters or why we should care.

Stephsco said...

Yes, although the "door after door" repetition isn't my favorite. But I would keep reading.

R.A.Desilets said...

Yes, but on the fence. I would like one more bit of information about the hallway itself. This is Sci-Fi - so where is the MC? Where is the hallway? Why are there enough doors that our MC can run by so quickly that they become blurred?

If there's one more descriptive thing that you can fit in, I'd make it something that truly jumps out as different.

Space ship? A never-ending hallway? A jail? I think that little bit could really make this pop.

Jillian Kuhns said...

No, I'm not really feeling it and am not pulled in.

Heather Hawke said...

No - too much detail before I am grounded.

Margot Galaway said...

No. Maybe it's the POV.

White Gardenia said...

No. I can't get a clear visual of this. Is he/she running? The word "race" throws me off. For doors to blend into white walls implies traveling much faster than running. :/

Shannon Schuren said...

No. It just didn't grab me. Not enough information, I guess.

Leah Petersen said...

No. The image would be good if the sentence conveyed it well, but it wasn't strong enough to evoke it for me.

Jasmine said...

No.
As someone who just was subjected to the opening of Total Recall where they beign in the middle of action (as we are told to do) I think everyone should go see that beginning to see what an epic fail it can be - no context, no knowledge of who is who or what's happening. Makes me rethink this fetish we have for opening with action - and why oh why can't we ease into a story any more?

Melinda said...

No, feels like I'm thrown into the middle of a scene rather than starting at the beginning, and the writing doesn't have enough voice to draw me in.

Marianne Su said...

No. This sounds like there should be some emotion attached to it that it's missing.

foxfyre said...

No. Partially because it gives me very little to work with, and partially because I have a personal bias against present tense novels. I don't know why, it just rarely works for me.

Kelsey (Dominique) Ridge said...

No. I get that the character is running, but since I don't know if they're running to something or from something or what, I feel the stakes are absent.

The REALLY Real Curious Crow said...

Yes. Your description brings with it a clear picture to the reader's mind.

Petre Pan said...

No. Running in hallways doesn't do it for me--I need a motive, or a feeling, or a really interesting hallway.

Shiela Calderón Blankemeier said...

No. Great action, but no conflict. Maybe just a little more info. Or emotion first, then action.

jedlight said...

Yes, it is intriguing.

sbibb said...

Yes. I'm curious as to whether she's just running really fast, or whether there is a power/ability or other sci-fi reason behind it.

Anonymous said...

No. First person present tense annoys me.

The Dieselpunkette said...

No. There's action, but I don't know what the action means to the main character.

Robin Weeks said...

No. I don't know why she's running, so I don't know how to feel about it. She could be running laps or carrying an important message or fleeing a monster. Unless she's doing something boring, she's unlikely to notice the way the doors blend into the walls.

Mary Holm said...

No. Not enough here for me to know what's going on. Maybe if there was a hint of reaction from the character. Panic? Fear?

Stacy McKitrick said...

No. Nothing there to make me care.

Megan said...

No. I had to re-read it a couple of times. Wasn't completely sure what was going on.

Abbe Hoggan said...

Yes. Good image.

Jo Antareau said...

Yes - as it was SF I imagined aliens invading a space station - although I then wondered why the protag kept running and didn't hide in any of the rooms.

I'd read on for a while to decide.

Tori Schindler said...

No. Not enough information, for all I know, the protag is looking for a bathroom.

Jenn said...

No. Evokes The Matrix-like imagery and I don't feel invited in.

KayC said...

Yes. But only just. The double door reference is jerky. I would prefer something like - I race past so many doors they all begin to blend into the white walls.

Heather said...

No.

I have no sense of where this person is or why they're running. It's lacking that little twist or bit of hook that pulls me in.

Danielle La Paglia said...

No. I had to stop and read the first few words again because "I race past door" doesn't make sense. It pulled me from the sentence and that's never a good a thing.

Barbara said...

No. I'm thinking late for class.

tarak said...

No. This doesn't seem like an opening line to me. If you're starting with action, I think you need to have the MC's. Live come through more. Otherwise, it's just a person running.

Aightball said...

No. This has been done before and there's something I can't pinpoint that I don't like about this sentence.

Britney Gulbrandsen said...

Yes. What is the MC looking for?

Dale Ibitz said...

No. I can't figure out if he's a really fast runner or dreaming that he's a fast runner; it doesn't make sense.

Jess Crockett said...

Yes, wonder why the character is running.