It's that time of year when the Roses of Prose start thinking about our holiday stories. As we have for the last several years, we will be posting short Christmas stories throughout the month of December. The only common denominator is the first line. That's where we need your help. We've had a LOT of first line suggestions this year, and we want to narrow the pack to the ones our readers think have the most potential before the final vote. Please leave comments telling us which lines are your favorites. Listed in the order they were received:
1) It was done. And she would lead the Christmas Parade down Main Street wearing nothing but a smile before she did it again.
2) She couldn't wait for Christmas to be over. Last night she'd dreamed she was being chased around the kitchen by a diabolical gingerbread man with glowing, red-hot eyes.
3) Pulling this off would take a Christmas miracle.
4) The eggnog was definitely spiked.
5) There was something about Santa no one had ever told her.
6) Stuck in an elevator on Christmas Eve...
7) Red really was his best color.
8) The only Christmas card she'd gotten and it was signed "Your Secret Admirer."
9) Her effort to steal Christmas failed.
10) She never liked Christmas when she was a kid.
11) Naughty and nice were never a problem for her.
12) What would Santa think about her last move?
13) There stood Santa, naked except for his black boots and his hat hanging on...
There are some definite contenders in here that get the creative juices flowing! What do you like in a first line? Long or short? General or specific? Pick your favorite line or two and leave us a comment. We'll announce the winning first line when we get a little closer to Christmas. Above all, don't forget to come back in December to read our stories!
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21 comments:
Wow, they sure do get the ideas flowing! :-) Can't wait to see which are the favorites.
I'm choosing:
13. What would Santa think of her last move?
10. She never liked Christmas when she was a kid.
My initial thought was the first line depends on the type of story you want to tell -- sweet vs. spicy. But here goes...
13) There stood Santa, naked except for his black boots and his hat hanging on...
3) Pulling this off would take a Christmas miracle.
I can't wait until December to see the results!
I think the best lines for our stories are the ones that lead to the widest range of possibilities since we don't want all our stories to be exactly alike. I also like short, but maybe that's just me! My picks are:
3) Pulling this off would take a Christmas miracle.
4) The eggnog was definitely spiked.
So much to choose from! But if I have to:
6) Stuck in an elevator on Christmas Eve...
10) She never liked Christmas when she was a kid.
They're all good, but I keep coming back to number 5. :)
I like short: #3, #5, or #9.
Darcy, I liked 5 too. Almost picked it.
#4 spiked eggnog could lead to a host of holiday mishaps!
I also like lines that lead to the widest possibilities. The specific ones can dictate the tone/genre of a story. Short is always good, too. My picks are:
3) Pulling this off would take a Christmas miracle.
4) The eggnog was definitely spiked.
10) She never liked Christmas when she was a kid.
Although, there are some really great ones on the list!
I can't recall the numbers.
Red being his best color.
Naked Santa in boots.
I like 4, spiked eggnog, because it could be anywhere and just about any time--even though all the recipes I have for eggnog are spiked anyway ;-) I mean, doesn't eggnog always have brandy or rum or something similar in it?
You know me--this is always my favorite part of the year. Can't wait to start plotting! I think these two are my favorites:
#4 The eggnog was definitely spiked.
#3 Pulling this off would take a Christmas miracle.
I love them all! My favorites are the spiked eggnog and the naked Santa. Hehehe I can see all kinds of possibilities.
Short is my preference too. Getting too far into the story with a first line is so restrictive. (That does make sense, right?)
My picks are...
3. Pulling this off would take a Christmas miracle.
7. Red really was his best color.
BTW - I do love that picture at the top. Any chance we can use that for our cover come December?
That ornament was a photo on Wikimedia Commons I downloaded quite a while back for free. I like it, too, which is why I saved it to use for this sort of thing. But what we use for a cover image depends on the collection title. Also, you need space around the image for all the printing. Alison is good at finding images that work, but free is always good! LOL
Thanks for all the participation, everyone. I'm seeing two clear favorites with four others that have two to three votes each. This will definitely narrow the final selection process!
I like #1. Dying to know what "it" is.
I agree about the sentence being open-ended.
I like #3 and #11
My favorites are (2), (1), and (6), with (2) being my top pick. Can't wait to see which you pick!
I choose #7!
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