The opening line of your novel—the thing you’ve probably agonized over. Other than the title, cover, and blurb, it’s the first thing your potential readers will see. And it can make the difference between whether they decide to keep reading or put the book down forever.

No pressure, right?

So, how do you come up with a compelling first line, one that will draw readers into the rest of the book?

This article will give you some guidelines for a great opening sentence and give you some ideas to help you write your very own compelling first line.

Strategies and Ideas for a Fantastic Opening Line

There are many ways to pique a reader’s interest, as many ways as there are books. Here are some ideas and examples.

Showcase the Voice

Regardless of how exactly you want to open your novel, you want to establish the voice from the beginning, whether this is your voice as the author, the narrator’s voice, or a character’s voice.

This works especially well if you’re using a unique voice to tell the story.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan:

Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.

If you’re reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.

Being a half-blood is dangerous. It’s scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways. If you’re a normal kid, reading this because you think it’s fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened…

Though we don’t even know this character’s name yet, we learn a lot about Percy and his narration in these first lines. Even the first sentence, with its casual tone, shows us who this character is. As we keep reading, we get a sense of who Percy is, that he’s young, that he’s funny, and that his life didn’t go how he planned.

Set the Tone and Mood

Along with voice, you want to set the tone and mood of the story from the beginning. Is your book sarcastic and satirical? Or is it whimsical? Is it dark and somber? Lighthearted? Heartbreaking?

Your first line should match the tone and mood of the rest of the story. Otherwise, when the mood shifts, readers will realize the book doesn’t match the expectations that were set when they started it, and they might stop reading because of it.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling:

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.

Even though Rowling is describing the most mundane characters in the book—the “perfectly normal” family—these first lines give you a sense that something not quite normal is going on. She sets a whimsical tone and mood and hints at the “strange and mysterious” magic that is yet to come.

Describe an Interesting Setting or Vivid Image

Sometimes all you need to attract readers is a vivid opening image, especially if the setting is unique or plays an important role in the book.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy:

When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him. Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world. His hand rose and fell softly with each precious breath. He pushed away the plastic tarpaulin and raised himself in the stinking robes and blankets and looked toward the east for any light but there was none.

It’s so easy to picture this scene, a man and a child curled up against the cold of the woods. With these first lines, readers can easily see what kind of world the story takes place in, a bleak, cold place that fills the man with worry for the child.

Throw Readers into the Action

One of my favorite ways to start a book is in the middle of the action, in medias res. It’s a great way to draw readers into a scene simply because they want to see what happens next and why the characters are in the situation they’re in.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare:

The demon exploded in a shower of ichor and guts.

William Herondale jerked back the dagger he was holding, but it was too late. The viscous acid of the demon’s blood had already begun to eat away at the shining blade. He swore and tossed the weapon aside; it landed in a filthy puddle and commenced smoldering like a doused match. The demon itself, of course, had vanished—dispatched back to whatever hellish world it had come from, though not without leaving a mess behind.

Exciting, right? In these opening lines, we’re thrown into a fight with a demon and left wondering how William Herondale ended up fighting one in the first place.

Make Your Readers Ask a Question

I find that some of the lines that intrigue me and capture my attention the most are the ones that make me ask a question. A question that the book will answer if I keep reading.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens:

Marley was dead: to begin with.

This isn’t even the full first paragraph—it’s only 6 words, but already, I have questions. Who is Marley? How did he die? “To begin with,” does that mean there’s more? To find out the answers to these questions, I’m forced to keep reading.