Adopt an Opening line

Here is one I thought of last year
The sea was filled with angry monkeys, but we are not at the sea so this does not really matter

[Wrong thread, content removed by moderator]

I just wanted to say that this is an awesome thread. It has inspired a number of rewrites and interesting rephrasing for me based on your adopt-ables. Thank you for your inspiration.


I will have to think of some to leave. I will go work on that now.

She was 14 years old, and had never been kissed. This day would change it.

Ooooh! This is the perfect opening line for a non-Nano book I'm planning! (Or if I procrastinate enough next year's Nano)

Fantastic! I'm taking these to play with, lets see if i can find a plot bunny that likes them:


There are few things in life that cannot be missed, and this, unfortunately, was one of them.

Forever usually seems like a long time, but sometimes, it goes by in a flash.

The tears and the pain aren’t the problem anymore. It’s the fear that keeps me up at night.

I'm leaving these two in return:

That breath on my neck should have spooked me, but all I could smell was coffee, and that alone made me wonder where on earth sold coffee at this time of night.

I felt that alive, that exhilarated, that I'd not realised that, that snap I heard wasn't a branch I'd broken when I fell, it was my arm.

"When you’re hanging on by a thread, just how much weight can it hold?"

I really like this one, I know I can find a home for this. :)

Taking the life pelting limes opener (love it!)

Leaving:
I'd always wondered how that canoe got to the top of that tree.

I'm so stealing "One step forward and it could all fall apart." (:


Leaving these:

At this moment, reason was beyond question.

That voice was the most captivating sound I'd ever heard.

If I had stayed in bed, everything would have been fine.

(Eh, mine suck.d:)

everyone always says that life throws you lemons. but what happens when it starts pelting limes?

I adore this! I now have a beginning AND an ending. Thank youuu :D

"you’d think roadside assistance would be more on the ball when it comes to a derailed donut truck."

I think I may have found employment for my MC :D

I might use this, it'll give me something to use to make my story longer. I'd just have to tweak it so it's not first person.

"forever usually seems like a long time, but sometimes, it goes by in a flash."

I quite like this one. Will be using. Thanks! :D

I may use the first one :) thanks!

"The tears and the pain aren’t the problem anymore. It’s the fear that keeps me up at night. "

Adopting this for future use; it's perfect for my MMC.

Taking "The last thing I remember is the apple crumble lighting on fire." Given that I have a Lethal Chef in my cast... :D

I am taking these ALL! They are genius!!!

How does one derail a truck anyway?

I especially like the tears and the pain aren’t the problem anymore. It’s the fear that keeps me up at night. This is perfect and describes my life right now! Can I run with it...?

Taking "if this was your fiftieth time in a diner this week, what would you recommend?”, and seeing if I can come up with anything. I might tweak it a little. Thanks!

Stealing "if I could be anywhere right now, you could bet that it wouldn’t be stuck at an abandoned bus stop." But changing abandoned bus stop to party.

Ooooooooooooooh.
Just decided on my opening line!! Thanks!!

(The tears and pain aren't the problem anymore. It's the fear that keeps me up at night.)

I've stolen a bunch already, so I MAY change my mind (again) but we'll see.

I love "When you're hanging on by a thread, just how much weight will it hold?"

Leaving:

The mirror reflected something sinister.

"the last thing I remember is the apple crumble lighting on fire"

adopted!

Playing with the first one

might toy with some of the others too just to see if i can get more plot ideas from them

These are all really good inspiration for plots!

Adopting...

The tears and the pain aren't the problem anymore. It's the fear that keeps me up at night.

When you're hanging by a thread, just how much weight can it hold?


Will defintiely be using these in my novel somewhere. Thanks! :)

''if I could be anywhere right now, you could bet that it wouldn’t be stuck at an abandoned bus stop.''
''you’d think roadside assistance would be more on the ball when it comes to a derailed donut truck.''

I've been trying to think of something like this for ages, they're brilliant! May take a bit of tweaking, but they've definitely found a place in my novel :D Thank you!

"there are few things in life that cannot be missed, and this, unfortunately, was one of them"

Snagging this one with some slight alterations. Besides the title, this is the only part of my novel I've got so far and I have no idea what I'm going to do with it :D

kaleighlady wrote:
everyone always says that life throws you lemons. but what happens when it starts pelting limes?
[/quote\]

I am taking this one!

Thank you <3 ^_^

Can I please take one of these? The "the tears and the pain aren’t the problem anymore. It’s the fear that keeps me up at night."

They're all great, I may be taking one (or more) of the following. :)

'the tears and the pain aren’t the problem anymore. It’s the fear that keeps me up at night.'

'there are few things in life that cannot be missed, and this, unfortunately, was one of them.'

'forever usually seems like a long time, but sometimes, it goes by in a flash.'

'after all of that, the only thing I can do is wait'

'when you’re hanging on by a thread, just how much weight can it hold?'

"everyone always says that life throws you lemons. but what happens when it starts pelting limes?"

Taking! Thank you, this is perfect!

everyone always says that life throws you lemons. but what happens when it starts pelting limes?

one step forward and it could all fall apart.


Ooh, I like these two. Lets see if I can fit them in somewhere.

Hey Kaleighlady

I will adopt the line: "The tears and pain aren't the problem anymore. Its the fear that keeps me up at night."

Thanks for the line. I will start trying to work it in.

Thanks for the help. Smiles

Some the stuff here is really good I'm gonna adopt them and try and spin a few tales thxs :)

"if I could be anywhere right now, you could bet that it wouldn’t be stuck at an abandoned bus stop."

Hey! I used this line this year and it was great!!! I've been meaning to say thank you, so thanks!!

Taking "Forever usually seems like a long time, but sometimes, it goes by in a flash."
Leaving: There was something wrong with her--very, /very/ wrong with her. Why else did she have a hat with bits of yarn taped to it?

Taking for my 1950's fic:
"Forever usually seems like a long time, but sometimes, it goes by in a flash."

"At first, everything looks the same."

I'm so taking this! If not to use then to definitely play around with. I love it-- thanks!

I love the combustible lemons. I can't use it, but I absolutely love it!

Love it! It's perfect for another story I'm working on.

LOVE the emergency one... I have a beginning now, thank you :)

The lemon line is hilarious. Mind if I adapt it for my story?

Leaving:

I washed off the blood idly, vaguely, wondering if they would be able to tell that the blood wasn't mine.

Oh, I am loving that last one.

(Also, is that a reference to Portal 2 I see there? Hehehe)

"Paging *insert name here*. Please report to Lab C-15 immediately, the combustible lemons are a success. I repeat, the combustible lemons are a success."

CAVE JOHNSON.

:D

Oh goodness. I love the second one! I just wonder what it would do to the plot of my novel... probably only good things. :)

Using the first one.

I think I'm going to use your second one for a short story.

I'm actually going to use the 1st line for my NaNoWriMo story! It'd describe the setting perfectly, thanks so much! <3

And here's a couple opening lines I'm putting up for adoption (not that any of them are good):

"Today. Today was a good day. Right up to the part where I died."

"I got an offer you can't refuse. But you'll probably do it anyway because you're such an ass."

I'm adopting your second two, for different chapter inspirations.


Leaving:


Today, the sun shone in hell.

It was the worst of times, there was nothing 'best' about it.

Love the pants. Mine is close.

"Does my beard look like pants?"

Possibly taking:

I never expected to wake up dead this morning.

Might adopt that second one for a short story. Thanks!

I'm adopting the first one, short and to the point

Taking the third one, though I may tweak it a bit.

Leaving:
If ever there was a time to lie, this was it.

I LOVE 'Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.' May or may not take it, but it still kicks major tail.

Leaving:

How many crunches can you do in an hour? I can manage two.
You'd think after watching so many horror movies, I'd be able to tell when I'd jumped into one.
It wasn't that [MC] didn't like the guy. He just thought he had a face that asked to be slapped on a daily basis.

Hot... buttered.... CHIMPS? Excuse me while I go shoot coffee out my nose. That was unexpected!

I am certainly taking "He was oddly ordinary. She was ordinarily odd." I have no idea how I'm going to work it in, but I have a feeling it's going to be an epic line of my story. Thanks for coming up with it.

I love "Nature always sides with the hidden flaw." Will find a use for that somewhere!

Leaving:
"If I had thought of the sheep earlier, I'd be a pair of corduroys richer and a handful of nuts poorer. Sheep love hazelnuts."
"It was midnight, and the momentous thing we were all waiting for turned out out to be nothing more than some old wigs and some remarkably fresh pizza."

I am madly in love with the last one!

"He was oddly ordinary. She was ordinarily odd."

This fits my brother/sister main characters perfectly! THANK YOU!

I think I'm going to take that last one ("Dear brain, I'm divorcing you. It's not me, it's you."). Not sure if it'll be for my NaNo, but I like it so much...

"Moral fibre? What, is that a new breakfast thing or something?"

I'm adopting this lovely! I have a character who really wants to say this. :)

I love the moral fiber line. *grabs*

Leaving:

"MC had a fairly normal childhood."

Taking "All things considered..." and using "Dear Brain..." as a saying on a MC's coffee cup.

Love the "Dear brain i'm divorcing you." Hope to find a use for it. :)

Leaving:

"And just when it couldn't get any worse..."
"The day seemed to drag on from where MC sat behind her stodgy desk. Only another half hour until she could escape to..."

The "Dear brain" line is going into my stockpile... It has far too much potential not to mull on it for a later story.

"She buried her sword in the ground and scowled at the children, 'I'm guessing you want a war story?' She snorted, 'Don't tell your parents this one.'"

I really like that, but I don't know if I'll use it for sure. Maybe a variation of it :)


Leaving:

This was certainly not the first time he awoke on the floor of a holding cell.

This was hardly the time to laugh, but death just made her so uncomfortable.

"She buried her sword in the ground and scowled at the children, "I'm guessing you want a war story?" She snorted, "Don't tell your parent's this one."

Thank you so much!! I'm definitely using it :D


Leaving:

"I've always said that I wouldn't regret my decisions - not even this one."

I'll be adopting the last two. They fit my girl perfectly!

Adopting: Hell was boring. Perhaps that was what made it Hell: for someone in need of constant mental stimulation, the lack of things to do would make the best punishment.

Also LOVE: They say that good guys drive shitty cars which is why I’m sitting on a rust bucket with a blue hood and a red door in the middle of walmarts parking lot

Definitely Adopting: Some stories--in fact, most of them--start at the beginning. But this one starts before that, because first, there are some things you need to know.

GLORIOUS!

Adopting Some stories--in fact, most of them--start at the beginning. But this one starts before that, because first, there are some things you need to know.

This is absolutely perfect for my story THANK YOU!



Leaving
Two households both alike in dignity. (MC) "Hey dumbass Shakespeare wrote that". (YOu) "But I wrote it too" (MC) "He wrote it first". (You) "Good literature is not a race"

Taking: There are things that go bump in the night. I'm one of them.
And also: It takes longer to burn a body than you'd think.

Thanks!

Leaving: Despite the pain, I had no idea that I was dying.

Okay, stealing and tweaking "There are things that go bump in the night. I'm one of them.(add)The other is my shin."

Thank you!

Adopting:
"Some stories -- in fact, most of them-- start at the beginning. But this one starts before that, because first there are some things you need to know."

probably going to play around with it a little, but it's just what i need for my story. thanks!

Leaving:
the rain pelted down even harder as the lighting smacked the ground and the thunder rolled down into the valley.

"There are things that go bump in the night. I'm one of them."

I probably won't use it as the first line, but I've got a character who would totally say this.

"They say that good guys drive shitty cars which is why I'm sitting on a rust bucket with a blue hood and a red door in the middle of walmarts parking lot." I'm probably not going to use it as an opening line, but maybe dialogue? I don't know, but I like it.

Adopting:
Some stories--in fact, most of them--start at the beginning. But this one starts before that, because first, there are some things you need to know.

I'm taking number 7 about things going bump in the night. I Love it and since I write a lot of horror stories, well....

Taking "This is going to get us all killed, isn't it?" Was gonna use it as a joke, but it worked so beautifully that I could literally play it straight. Thank you!

[Character Name] was not an attractive name, nor did it belong to an especially attractive person.


...Ok if I can think of a name for my protagonist, I´ll probably use this one.

Taking the character name one!

Elizabeth_Sabourin wrote:

Some stories--in fact, most of them--start at the beginning. But this one starts before that, because first, there are some things you need to know.

I am definitely using this one. Thank you! :D
(Some stories--in fact, most of them--start at the beginning. But this one starts before that, because first, there are some things you need to know.)

love these, wish i could use them.....

I love, love, LOVE that last one. I may have to steal that for another story I'm working on. XD

Definitely taking the library line, though I may tweak it or use it as a chapter.

Also considering the emergency line from above and "If they didn't shut up soon she would kill them, lesser being or not."

Since I still don't have a definite plot, it will depend on how it all fits together.

Taking that first one!

That last one is almost a perfect description of my MC in the eyes of his colleagues...! The color description even sounds vaguely accurate.

/steals! (maybe)

HA!! using! Thanks :)

I think I've reached the age where I start every DAY with that line! :-)

Oooo, I might be adopting "Most people would close their eyes and cower in fear, try to pretend this wasn't happening. Not her though, she simply watched it all go down, not even flinching once." At the very least, it's going in my adoptions file for future use. :D

'I could tell you everything, like the color of the sky and what t-shirt I wore when this all started. But I'm not going to. Instead I'm just going to say...'

This is perfect - taking most likely!!

Hmm...thinking I might adopt "Most bad guys turn out to be the jock, or creepy old guy down the road, or the mean girl, or the bully, or that lady you thought was just some nice old person knitting scarves, or that doctor, or the rather obvious criminal, or maybe if you're someone with super powers it's your arch nemesis [insert super villain here]. But what if the bad guy, the horrible person who you have to fight... What if it's yourself?" and tweak it a bit...for what I have planned so far, I definitely think it would be awesome xD

I'm taking that first one,too. It totally fits an idea I have. I may have to tweak it though.

I'd like to use after someone close to you dies, change the last word to fades, and use the next two lines following. i have a character who can use the spotlight paragraph. i can imagine a cousin estranged saying, "come on, this isn't funny..."

Aviechan- I have to thank you so very much!

I'm taking "It all started with a guest speaker at our school. It started a chain reaction of horrible things, and amazing things. Things I'm going to share with the world, starting now." I'm taking out the "Things I'm going to share..." part, but this line is perfect. It fixes the biggest plot whole in my story. It gives me an intro that will draw the reader in (hopefully, but certainly it was more interesting than straight to the test scene one). And lastly, it allws an introduction of characters and a way to build the plot twist more. You have made my NaNoWriMo. I owe you one. :D

"Most people would close their eyes and cower in fear, try to pretend this wasn't happening. Not her though, she simply watched it all go down, not even flinching once." I'm taking this one home! Abso-freaking-lutely right on the money, it's scary. Thank you!

Adopting the second one! It works prefect for my story, thank you!

oh i love, "I looked at her face" but i have no where to use it.
but i will use "After someone close to you dies" with a little change.... that'll be for a chapter. :) THANKS!

"Most people would close their eyes and cower in fear, try to pretend this wasn't happening. Not her though, she simply watched it all go down, not even flinching once."

I think this is the perfect line I've been looking for. I think I finally figured out how to start my story appropriately. Thankies much~

I'm adopting the second and third one.

Defiantly adopting, this will work nicely, not for my NaNo, but for a later novel for sure!

Stealing!

Most bad guys turn out to be the jock, or creepy old guy down the road, or the mean girl, or the bully, or that lady you thought was just some nice old person knitting scarves, or that doctor, or the rather obvious criminal, or maybe if you're someone with super powers it's your arch nemesis [insert super villain here]. But what if the bad guy, the horrible person who you have to fight... What if it's yourself

Leaving: well the same my comment above

I.E Life kicks you in the crotch,oral pills, and pants. Haha the actual lines I'm leaving are up ^^^^^^^^^^

This one was great! Absolutely fantastic! I wish I were that witty in real life. Can't use it, but love it just the same. :)

That third one is actually quite inspiring and I could use that for an alternative plot if the first one doesn't work thanks :)

Leaving: It doesn't always work out the way it should. Fate really does lay down it's hand to change everything possible.

Taking the second one~

Love the second one!