A line is the short, quick, and to-the-point description of your book’s plot that will be read by your readers during the first few seconds of their eyes landing on your book’s cover. A line is very important, and it should be the first thing that will catch your reader’s attention. If you want to write something that will engage your reader, try using action words. Action words will make your reader want to read what you have written; they will make the line sound more like an adventure or a story that is worth listening to or reading. Some examples of action words are: adventure, frighten, thrill, and mystify. The last word “mystify” is a word that can be used to describe the feeling your reader will have when reading your line. It will make them think “this writer is trying to mystify me; he’s wasting my time with words.” However, if you use words like this frequently it will make your readership aware that you are trying to trick them, and they might stop trusting you.
The Best Lines
Here are some of the best lines from some of the bestselling novels in history. Can you think of a line from any of these novels that will make your book more appealing to readers?
Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre — “In reality, nausea was his profession; he was a professional driver, a professional housewife, a professional mother, a professional father, a professional lover, in short, a professional.”
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck — “It was the most wonderful thing about this country, the way you could start all over again.”
The Martian by Andy Weir — “I’ve got a million questions, and nobody to ask them to.”
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen — “After drinking one glass of wine, he [Mr. Darcy] declared that he felt equal to dealing with any amount that might arise.”
The Lovely Emily by Jane Austen — “…there is no resisting Mr. Collins’s manners, however, when he wishes to be agreeable.”
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne — “She [Hercules] had the gift of fascination, which no one could resist…”
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain — “I don’t care much for rules. They’re always laying down rules and restrictions about things that don’t matter.”
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells — “It was not often that he permitted any trivial matter to interfere with his work, but on this occasion he could not resist the temptation.”
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy — “I must tell you that Pierre had a very good talent for making conquests of all sorts, whether they were dangerous or harmless; he was remarkably intelligent, quick, and had a good grasp of things.”
How to Write Your Line
The key to writing a good line is to keep it short. Your line should not be longer than 14 words. If you are writing a screenplay, you can increase this word limit a little bit. Don’t be afraid to be clever in your line writing. As long as it is not cumbersome, you should use every word effectively. Do not use big words willy-nilly. Do not write in a way that is difficult to understand. If you want to use big words, do it for a reason. If you are trying to impress your reader, don’t do it through ostentatious writing. Remember, the person you are writing this line for is probably not as well versed in literature as you are.
When you write your line, you should sound like you are reading it from a story. You should also make it sound as if it were written by someone you know. This will help with the effect it has on your reader. For example, if you were writing a screenplay and you wanted to show that something was funny, you could write “The punchline was amazing!” If you want to make it sound like an interesting story, you could write “As fascinating as the conversation was, it was finally interrupted by a violent tapping on the shoulder.”
You should also make sure that your line is memorable. If you have ever written a song, you know how easy it is to get stuck in a rut when it comes to lyrics. Make sure you work on something new and different for this line. You might want to write a funny or interesting anecdote about the character you are writing. If you can think of a better way to end the line, try writing it out and seeing how it sounds. If you are satisfied with how your line ends, you can go back and fix the ending in your next revision.
The Importance of Revision
When you are writing your line, you should not be afraid to change it a little bit. If you are not satisfied with how your line ends, you can go back and try rewriting it. Sometimes, a line will not seem to fit with what you are trying to write about, or it might not make sense. It is very common for beginners to overuse commas and to use way too many semicolons. When you are writing your line, you should avoid these two errors in particular. A semicolon is a punctuation mark that separates two complete sentences, while a comma is used to join two independent clauses that are not otherwise connected.
When you are first writing your line, it is common to use too many words. The key is to keep your line short and sweet, while still making your point clearly. Once you have written your line a few times, you will become more comfortable with it, and you can add more flavor to your writing. Short and sweet usually works best in dialogue; if it is not dialogue, then it should be shortened as much as possible. If you use more than seven words, your reader will lose interest and probably skip over what you have written. You want to keep your line interesting for the reader, but not so long that they forget why they are interested in what you have written.
The Four Steps to Perfection
To write a perfectly good line, you need to follow these four steps. First, write the line. Next, revise the line numerous times. Third, rewrite the line from top to bottom, and finally, edit the line to make it perfect.
When you are writing your line, you might want to use a thesaurus or an online dictionary to find the closest equivalents to the words you are using. If you are not sure what a word means, look it up in the dictionary or use the thesaurus to find other words that mean the same thing. If you want to write an enticing line, be sure to choose your words carefully. If you are looking for a specific definition, be sure to look it up in the dictionary or use the thesaurus. If you follow these steps, you will end up with a perfectly good line that will engage your reader and hold their attention.