Just realized I had to pick between two totally different opening lines for my sci-fi story

I was stuck for days deciding whether to start with 'The station alarm blared at 0300 hours' or 'Captain Vex stared at the empty coffee pot, knowing this was the real emergency.' I went with the coffee pot line and it just felt right, way more human. What's a time you picked a 'small' detail over a 'big' one to start a story?

3 comments

3 Comments

betty_perry244d ago

Good call, that coffee pot line has way more personality.

fiona_carr264d ago

Yeah, the "personality" bit is key. It makes you actually picture the character in their messy kitchen, not just hear a line. That visual does half the work for the writer.

kimw574d ago

Oh man, my whole first chapter was about a guy trying to find a matching sock. The alien invasion could wait.