Entry tags:
Writing Meme
Ganked from half the f-list by now, LOL.
List the first lines of your last twenty stories. See if you find any patterns.
Its times like these that Master Fic Lists come in really, really handy!
~*~
“I’m sorry,” she announced, dry-eyed.
Akiko gave a low whistle.
Miroku glanced down the length of his bar, quirking a brow as he polished the surface of the solid wood.
“You requested an audience with me, my lord?”
Kagome straightened in her seat, demurely pushing herself to the edge of the chair and crossing her feet at an angle behind her.
Kagome took a deep breath, steeling her spine as she made her way down the dimly lit hallway.
She watched him from a distance as he made his way down to the coast.
Kagome stifled a sigh as she eased into the apartment, grateful to finally put her heavy bags down and give her arms a rest.
Sesshoumaru drew a deep breath and steeled his spine as he eyed the thick oak door warily.
Kikyo stood at her kitchen counter, silently chopping vegetables on a plastic cutting board.
He stood. He waited. He watched.
Kagome’s footsteps were silent as she picked her way down the forest path.
Miroku gazed down the length of the inn’s veranda thoughtfully, the gentle tap of the falling rain on the roof above echoing in his ears.
“I’ll take care of everything,” Miroku announced as he and his wife returned to their hut after a long, tiring day on the road.
He had lived for countless centuries, and had known many different sorts of women in his time.
Kagome heaved a sigh of relief as she threw herself down on the blanket-covered ground.
Kagome took a deep breath and quietly closed the bathroom door.
This is how you remind me…
Youkai don’t need to sleep, he’d once informed her.
Sesshoumaru sighed, eyeing himself in the bathroom mirror.
~*~
First of all ~ wow, that took me all the way back to friggin April. Has it really taken me that long to pump out twenty pieces of fic? And its not like these are massive pieces, either (well, okay, some of them exceed the 5000 word mark...)
Meta-analysis, a la
knittingknots:
Longest opening sentence = 25 words
Shortest opening sentence = 2 words
12 start with a named subject
5 have unnamed subjects/pronouns
17 use action verbs
3 use some form of 'to be'
3 are pieces of dialogue
5 are descriptions of people
0 are descriptions of non-animate objects
9 involve Kagome as the main character
5 involve Sesshoumaru as the main character
3 involve Miroku as the main character
1 involves Kikyo as the main character
1 involves InuPapa as the main character
1 involves an OC as the main character
I'm actually surprised that only three of them open with dialogue. This is one of my biggest criticisms of my own work; from the time I was a kid it was drilled into me that opening with a line of dialogue is bad form (who knows why *shrug* considering its a stylistic thing). I think I feel like its more than that because there's a lot of dialogue-heavy opening lines in Allegiance.
It also appears I like to open a piece with some sort of action, instead of description. Interesting.
...and I can see why people peg me as an S/K writer *facepalm* Wow, there isn't as much variation in my pairing choice as I like to think...
List the first lines of your last twenty stories. See if you find any patterns.
Its times like these that Master Fic Lists come in really, really handy!
“I’m sorry,” she announced, dry-eyed.
Akiko gave a low whistle.
Miroku glanced down the length of his bar, quirking a brow as he polished the surface of the solid wood.
“You requested an audience with me, my lord?”
Kagome straightened in her seat, demurely pushing herself to the edge of the chair and crossing her feet at an angle behind her.
Kagome took a deep breath, steeling her spine as she made her way down the dimly lit hallway.
She watched him from a distance as he made his way down to the coast.
Kagome stifled a sigh as she eased into the apartment, grateful to finally put her heavy bags down and give her arms a rest.
Sesshoumaru drew a deep breath and steeled his spine as he eyed the thick oak door warily.
Kikyo stood at her kitchen counter, silently chopping vegetables on a plastic cutting board.
He stood. He waited. He watched.
Kagome’s footsteps were silent as she picked her way down the forest path.
Miroku gazed down the length of the inn’s veranda thoughtfully, the gentle tap of the falling rain on the roof above echoing in his ears.
“I’ll take care of everything,” Miroku announced as he and his wife returned to their hut after a long, tiring day on the road.
He had lived for countless centuries, and had known many different sorts of women in his time.
Kagome heaved a sigh of relief as she threw herself down on the blanket-covered ground.
Kagome took a deep breath and quietly closed the bathroom door.
This is how you remind me…
Youkai don’t need to sleep, he’d once informed her.
Sesshoumaru sighed, eyeing himself in the bathroom mirror.
First of all ~ wow, that took me all the way back to friggin April. Has it really taken me that long to pump out twenty pieces of fic? And its not like these are massive pieces, either (well, okay, some of them exceed the 5000 word mark...)
Meta-analysis, a la
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Longest opening sentence = 25 words
Shortest opening sentence = 2 words
12 start with a named subject
5 have unnamed subjects/pronouns
17 use action verbs
3 use some form of 'to be'
3 are pieces of dialogue
5 are descriptions of people
0 are descriptions of non-animate objects
9 involve Kagome as the main character
5 involve Sesshoumaru as the main character
3 involve Miroku as the main character
1 involves Kikyo as the main character
1 involves InuPapa as the main character
1 involves an OC as the main character
I'm actually surprised that only three of them open with dialogue. This is one of my biggest criticisms of my own work; from the time I was a kid it was drilled into me that opening with a line of dialogue is bad form (who knows why *shrug* considering its a stylistic thing). I think I feel like its more than that because there's a lot of dialogue-heavy opening lines in Allegiance.
It also appears I like to open a piece with some sort of action, instead of description. Interesting.
...and I can see why people peg me as an S/K writer *facepalm* Wow, there isn't as much variation in my pairing choice as I like to think...
no subject
I'm also very interested in what you said about having it drilled in to you that opening with dialogue is bad form. I've never heard that before.
These are some great lines to hook readers with. ^_^
Question: Wouldn't your shortest opening sentence be just two words? "He stood."
no subject
Yeah, it does, for the most part, LOL. I guess I like to have a focal point, right from the start. Plus, some of these were written under word limits, so its essential to convey as much information as possible, in as few words as possible. Yet, even with my longer pieces, I do generally start off with an action, right off the bat.
I'm also very interested in what you said about having it drilled in to you that opening with dialogue is bad form. I've never heard that before.
I think it comes from my time reading series books when I was a kid, and those were universally derided as badly written books from a stylistic standpoint. Quite a few of them, especially the BSC, had chapters that started with a line of dialogue, without fail. So, I guess the two (bad writing + opening line of dialogue) became equated in my mind. Just one of those quirks of an untrained writer, I suppose :P
Question: Wouldn't your shortest opening sentence be just two words? "He stood."
o.O LOL, you're right!! I guess I didn't notice that because I considered that whole line the opening line, instead of just the first sentence. Nice eye!!