Back to Beginnings

We've touched on beginnings and opening lines in previous posts, but it's so important that I wanted to devote this post to that very same topic.

I've decided to put the opening paragraphs of my YA thriller, Lost in the Bayou, here as an example. I'd like you to include your opening in a comment so we can all benefit from the input each of us has to offer. So, with that said, here it is...


In Louisiana, summer wraps around you like molasses. Thick and sticky. July is hot and humid. Always. August is worse. And the summer of 1963 has been a record breaker so far.

This morning, the sky is cloudless. It's muggy, and there's no hint of a breeze to blow away the pestering flies or the lingering stench of whatever crawled under the porch and died a few days ago. The only possible relief in sight is a dark bank of clouds in the south over the bayou. If it holds together, we may get a storm later tonight to cool things off. I hope so.

The rhythmic buzz of locusts fills the air, but it stops suddenly as the deep rumble comes up the road. My heart races as the sound rolls across the terrace and toward the covered veranda where we're waiting.

There's an uncertain look in Andy's eyes when he glances up at me, and his voice is thin as water when he speaks. "He's coming."


In fiction, an arrival or a departure is a good way to start out. I decided to use the arrival of Uncle Conrad as a starting point in order to introduce him to the reader, along with Robin and her little brother, Andy.

As mentioned, I would love your comments, and I'm certain the rest of us would enjoy reading a sample of your opening if you'd like to share it with us. As always, keep writing.