Category Archives: first sentences

volt

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

I want to slow things down. I was planning on writing a post on several stories in Alan Heathcock‘s debut collection, Volt, but I think I’ll just look at the first story. “The Staying Freight”–I love the title–was first published … Continue reading →

Posted in catching moments, character, Contrary, craft of writing, details, first sentences, stories | Tagged | 5 Comments

the maytrees

Posted on May 14, 2010 by

Annie Dillard published her most recent book, The Maytrees, a novel, in 2007. The cover of the paperback has recessed letters that I can feel with my eyes closed and uneven pages that make me think the book was created … Continue reading →

Posted in Annie Dillard, first sentences, novels, structure | Tagged | 19 Comments

if I loved you

Posted on April 30, 2010 by

When I heard that Robin Black was going to be the Sirenland Fellow for 2009 and that she had published a story in One Story, I moved quickly to my back issues and began to thumb through. I only save … Continue reading →

Posted in first sentences, Sirenland, stories | Tagged | 8 Comments

Let me in

Posted on March 11, 2010 by

“Naked Chinese People” is the first story in the collection California Transit by Diane Lefer, my adviser this semester at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I thought if I was going to be working with her, I should read some … Continue reading →

Posted in awards and prizes, first sentences, stories | Tagged | 2 Comments

wildlives

Posted on October 9, 2009 by

In Wildlives, Quebecois author Monique Proulx creates a magical world out of the stuff of our world. Memory, silence, flowers, summertime, the lake–everything is alive. “The lake rose and fell and murmured beneath his paddle like a primitive animal mass, … Continue reading →

Posted in craft of writing, first sentences, form, life, place, recurring images, structure, time | Tagged | 8 Comments

sixty potential first sentences

Posted on July 17, 2009 by

Yesterday a flash fiction story of mine, Watching, was published in an online magazine called Six Sentences. Trying to tell a story in six sentences is enlightening because the writing process is compressed, making it easy to see what you’re … Continue reading →

Posted in accumulation, craft of writing, first sentences, stories | Tagged | 10 Comments

summer reading II: story collections

Posted on June 2, 2009 by

With the intention of reading a story a night, a reader asked yesterday about story collections. I love that idea. No brand new collections to suggest, I’m afraid, but here are three great oldies: Women & Fiction, edited by Susan … Continue reading →

Posted in Annie Dillard, Carson McCullers, first sentences, reading lists, stories, Virginia Woolf | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

in a lyrical way

Posted on April 20, 2009 by

75 years ago this month, Tender is the Night was published.  In a friend’s copy of the book, Fitzgerald inscribed the following: “If you liked The Great Gatsby, for God’s sake read this. Gatsby was a tour de force but … Continue reading →

Posted in character, craft of writing, first sentences, reviews | Tagged | Leave a comment

first the facts

Posted on February 24, 2009 by

Here is the first sentence from Richard Russo‘s novel, Empire Falls, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002: “The Empire Grill was long and low-slung, with windows that ran its entire length, and since the building next door, a … Continue reading →

Posted in awards and prizes, first sentences | Tagged , | 1 Comment

a shape to view

Posted on February 22, 2009 by

In 1985 Russell Banks wrote “Sarah Cole:  A Type of Love Story.”  It was first published in The Missouri Review, then in The Best American Short Stories 1985, then in The Angel on the Roof.  You can also listen to … Continue reading →

Posted in craft of writing, first sentences, form, shapes, stories, structure | Tagged | Leave a comment