So how do I write the perfect opening line? I know it has to be great. I know it has to grab the reader and pique their interest from the get go, but I haven’t been able to locate a magic formula.

To be honest, I don’t think there is one. What I’ve observed, is great opening lines come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common. They get your attention or leave you wanting to know more.

Strategies for writing the perfect opening line:

Get an emotional response from your reader. Use strong words that elicit surprise, laughter, anger, shock….

• “They say when trouble comes close ranks, and so the white people did.” Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
• “It was the day my grandmother exploded.” Iain Banks, The Crow Road

Leave the reader wanting to know more…

• I have lived more than a thousand years. Ann…