The First Line
The start of a new year makes me think of the start of good things to come. I’ve been reading the most recent Pushcart Prize stories and I’ve been paying extra close attention to first lines–trying to come up with a perfect first line for the latest story I’m working on. Of course, this made me think of the The First Line.
A few weeks ago, I received a few issues of The First Line, which is a literary magazine that’s got a great concept. The editors have provided you with the first line already, so all you have to do is to continue the story. What I love about this magazine is that the stories are so vastly different from each other and the authors of the stories use the lines in really inventive ways.
So, New Year, New First Lines.
2010 First Lines:
Spring: Working for God is never easy. (submissions due Feb. 1)
Summer: Paul and Miriam Kaufman met the old-fashioned way. (due May 1)
Fall: Three thousand habitable planets in the known universe, and I’m stuck on the only one with ___________.[Fill in the blank.] (due Aug. 1)
Winter: Until I stumbled across an article about him in the paper, I never realized how much Walter Dodge and I are alike. (due Nov. 1)
Find out how to submit to them at www.thefirstline.com.
Happy New Year!
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