Two Things on Writing: a Poem and a Meme

[browngirl]

I've meant to link to this poem for awhile. petronelle has written a beautiful Shakespearan sonnet entitled "R&R OR I WON'T WRITE MORE!", which is perfectly meta and absolutely insightful (and it scans!).

Meanwhile, the Twenty Most Recent First Lines Meme, leaving off my actual most recent first line.

I first heard of this through dsudis and found it written up beautifully here. I've included drabbles, but not unfinished Amnesty postings as the latter are out of any kind of chronological order.



"I can't believe Dad!" Charlie all but shouted, curls swaying, one hand flourished overhead in frustration.

"I found out what your name means," Charlie said, his calm tone of voice completely unchanged.

David finds Colby smiling wistfully at a picture of his unit, a smaller candid tucked into the frame.

"I'm still hungover," Charlie whined, clutching his head.

Colby's back hits the brick wall, Dwayne's mouth crushing his, Dwayne's "didn't know you were in L.A." still echoing in his ears.

It's not in what Don says but in what he doesn't say, Charlie reflects as he parks his bike behind Don's car.

"Charlie," Amita says, her voice even, "do you remember what we were talking about?"

Don wasn't being selfish.

Rachel leans her forehead against the cool window, staring out at the glittering skyline and red-black sky of a Gotham night.

Ruth had lived better days.

Fry is wearing Leela's tank top on his head and a bemused expression, because she threw it at him and because he's Philip J. Fry, respectively.

When Tish opens the door of her new flat to see Captain Jack Harkness smiling down at her, the first thing she does is rear up onto her toes and slap him as hard as she can.

"No," Barbara said, perfectly clearly despite her teeth in Helena's ear.

"Oh, yes, Amita, oh God, like that, like that, yes..."

Colby has his face in David's pillow and his ass in David's hands, the sweet slick burn of David's fingers pushing everything else away.

Don sees Charlie, flattened to the bed, covered by Coop's broad back, clutching at his shoulder and the nape of his neck where sweat darkens the short light hair.

Cassie shivers on the slick floor, her broken ribs grinding with every movement, her head pounding dully, blank darkness beneath her eyelids.

Sometimes, Ekhat can't believe his good luck.

Monica is putting on her sports bra when Claire opens the door.

Most things have a good side, and Jack's insomnia was coming in quite handy these days.


So, some trends:

In my first lines apparently I either set a scene or present a piece of dialogue to be explained, or occasionally both. Also, sometimes I use too many phrases; the last line is extremely truncated. I think I write more plainly these days than I did when I was in the LOTR fandom; there's less emphasis on beauty of language and more on transparency, or maybe that's just my impression.

I'm still fond of "Sometimes, Ekhat can't believe his good luck." It's such a cheerful, innocuous start to a story so full of wrong (the original version had even more violence, no less).

Comments

[ilthit.livejournal.com]

I'd do it, except the person you linked to made it seem like a method of reviewing and improving your writing from a serious artistic perspective. Doodz, I am not that serious. :D My attitude is, f you like my drabbling, nifty, if you don't, I don't really care that much and I don't need to learn how to do it right. I realize this is the same attitude that keeps some writers from using capitalisation and full stops or from thinking grammar is important... and I realize my ficcing is completely self-indulgent and I do on occasion feel superior to the no-full-stops people... and that self-improvement for self-improvement's sake is something I should kinda do. But it's no fun and makes me feel inadequate so no.

This came out much too long.

Heeee Fry.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

You're as serious as you need to be to write as magnificently as you do. :) But yeah, I didn't get as analytical as she did either; I don't think it's required. Just looking at 20 first lines was kind of fun.