# First line of a new novel **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 27, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164 "2002-12-27T14:54:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![auntnut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@auntnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntnut)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/21 "2002-12-28T08:59:08Z")
Halfway to Ohio on my bike… ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/22 "2002-12-28T09:24:21Z")
“It was raining outside, in the city of a thousand alibis, but inside trouble flew on gossamer wings.” –Fantasy Noir. “It was always easy to make Jim laugh, provided you had the right combination of complex polysaccharides and arachnoid misery.” “Joani loved Chachi, a fact taken into account when Ralph the Mouth was found filled with buckshot on a remote pier.” “It was the best day of my life, barring that time I killed an Alaskan werewolf with a pair of pliers and the corpse of a long-dead musk ox.” ““I can’t believe I nuked the whole thing,” George Bush gaped.” Oh, I’ll be back. This is too goddamned tempting. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/23 "2002-12-28T10:43:01Z")
“At that moment, Commander Tsala decided she _liked_ the smell of burnt flesh.” - First line of my third _Star Trek_ short story, and my personal favourite. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/24 "2002-12-28T11:48:25Z")
Okay, I know this isn’t a thread about our favorite novel openers, but I love Camus’s “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.” _The Stranger_ rocked. 🙂 Camus can do, but Satre is smatre. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/25 "2002-12-28T12:37:47Z")
The publishers had emphasised that his new work must have an arresting opening, developed in a way which even the most casual of book-store browsers would find intriguing and rewarding. That he had managed this, and still retained a quite stunning yet pleasing suprise for page 7, was something which pleased him greatly. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/26 "2002-12-28T17:18:43Z")
In a rectangular triangle, the square on the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares on the other two sides. ---
**Author:** ![TVGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@TVGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/27 "2002-12-28T19:21:34Z")
_It was a dark and stormy night …_ (Oh come on, someone HAD to add that one.) Actually, once at work, a VERY long day started with this seemingly innocuous comment from a fellow employee: _“Is that supposed to be making that sound?”_ The ‘day’ ended 64 hours later … seemed like that WAS a novel. ---
**Author:** ![S.Mussberger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@S.Mussberger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/S.Mussberger)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/28 "2002-12-28T21:35:41Z")
“So, anyway as I waded through the pool of Coors light I could clearly see that Anna was indeed alive!” ---
**Author:** ![Igloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Igloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igloo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/29 "2002-12-28T22:48:55Z")
Her innocent eyes looked like perfectly fried, over-easy eggs, and I had the sausage that would complete our breakfast of love. ---
**Author:** ![BioHazard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3bc359/32.png) [@BioHazard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BioHazard)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/30 "2002-12-28T23:52:16Z")
“Once upon a time on the Straight Dope Message Board…” ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164/31 "2002-12-29T00:00:33Z")
**TVGuy** , write it down, I’m intrigued. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-line-of-a-new-novel/145164.md?page=1)