Archive for the First Lines Category
Some first lines to inspire your muse
Sometimes all you need is a great first line. One that leaves you hanging. One that makes you think. One that puzzles you. Taking off from a first line as a writing prompt can be a great way to feed your muse something a little different than her usual diet. Here’s a snack tray of [...]
What can you do with…
…one of these first lines. I’m just making them up as I go along. Use them if you can…
in the wild days of
if you could tell me what and where
sara, you only have my heart
dancing on the heads of an infinity of angels
you could never
one line
I want to swab your cotton mouth with my tongue.
this doesn’t really fit in anything i’m writing right now, but i like it.
maybe you can do something with this…
I’ve just been scribbling a lot the last couple of days. I’ve had so much mental stimulous that I almost can’t actually formulate anything new except snippets of ideas. But this line (lines?) keeps bouncing into my brain. It’s not ready to be born into a whole poem, but maybe someone else can coax it [...]
it may seem rude
stake out your local open mic venue. sit in the back and just jot down fragments that make your ears prick up. if your ears don’t normally prick up then either (a) your venue sucks, (b) you’re genetically deformed, or (c) you’re not listening close enough.* take 1 of those fragments and [...]
been bouncing around in my head
Here’s a potential first line for a piece. It may also fit somewhere else in a piece better:
“You really know how to push my buttons. I have to move them every so often just to get through the day.”
Some Lines to Get You Started
One of my favorite exercises on a long-ago BBS Door was a game of First Lines. The rules were simple. One member would post some lines that might make good first lines for a poem - and from there on they were fair game. Any other writer could write a poem using any one (or [...]
Kickstart Your Muse…
Can’t seem to get started? Here are some first lines to get you started. There are no rules - put a first line in the middle of a poem, riff off of it or use it to kickstart a freewrite exercise…
