We’re having some fun today! (The omnipresent today, whenever you’re reading this…)
While writing last week’s Million Words entry, I made a list of all the writing projects I’d ever saved in MS Word. So. I asked, and you voted, on the social medias: it’s time to play Guess the Plot! First lines edition.
How this will work:
I’m going to give you first lines (up to two, in case of one word first lines, or authorial discretion) of my stories and based on only those lines, YOU, yes YOU, dear stranger, will guess the plot or premise! I’ll provide feedback on what I think of the first lines as well.
Once I have some fun guesses, I’ll write an entry highlighting the best in show, and that entry will reveal the true plot of these first lines.
I might do a few of these if you all like this, I have quite a number of unfinished and finished stories that will never otherwise see the light of day. The first lines below are presented with no editing, and are, eek, over a decade old, so, um Internet—please do what you are worst at and be gentle.
Without further ado, presenting round 1!
Submit your guesses in a comment below, in the contact form, or on the social media platform of your choice (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
Story A—2003
“ ‘But Daine…I don’t want to meditate.’ ”
Author thoughts: Haaaaahahahahahahaha. Okay I know exactly where this one is going and if any of you guess correctly you’re my favorites. Starting with dialogue sans speaker tags, a bold choice for 2003-me.
Story B—2003
“It was a bright sunny day in Middleton today, not too hot, or too cold, just perfect.”
Author thoughts: “Middleton” 🙄🤦🏻 Look guys, naming things is HARD. Still. And I was a child. This could almost be the opening of a suburban fable.
Story C—2005
“Snow fell lightly on the eve of battle.”
Author thoughts: I am psyched for this one. It leads with imagery and gets straight to the point. I have immediate questions: who’s fighting? Why? With that? Where are we?
Story D—2007
“How does one go about living as a vampire?”
Author thoughts: Oh dear. Well. Twilight was published in 2005 and I was peak age and demographic for it so: did I have a vampire phase? Yessssss. Still. Though rhetorical questions are overused, this hook does get straight to a premise.
Story E—2010
“…Ah, the bliss of a simple life. Heat radiating from the bright sun like tendrils laying on his skin, warming his body with their touch.”
Author thoughts: I included the second sentence here because it’s the only use of third person present tense. The POV tense isn’t obvious from the other first lines above, but I think it’s interesting I was maybe starting to experiment with different POV tenses by 2010.
Thanks for playing! I can’t wait to read what you come up with!
-M