The opening line of a book is extremely important, as it has to be intriguing and powerful enough to capture the reader's imagination. Then, the second line has to intensify the intrigue. Coming up with these lines can be pretty difficult, yet one writer came up with a second line that would almost always heighten the intrigue to its peak, and the Internet is going crazy.
"And then the murders began" - that's the clever line Marc Laidlaw came up with. Add it to almost any opening line and you've got yourself a hell of an intriguing book opening. Now people are tweeting famous first lines of books followed by Marc's second line, with the hashtag #LaidlawsRule. The results are absolutely hilarious! See for yourselves below, and feel free to add your own intriguing openings to the list.
(h/t)
This post may include affiliate links.
#241
Call me Ishmael. And then the murders began. (Moby Dick, Herman Melville)
0points
#242
Politics is stuck. And then the murders began (The New American Story, Bill Bradley)
0points
#243
"War fever ran high in the New England town to which we new, young officers from Plattsburg were assigned, and we were flattered when the first citizens took us to their homes, making us feel heroic." And then the murders began. - Alcoholics Anonymous
0points
#244
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality. And then the murders began
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality. And then the murders began
0points
#245
A told B and B told C I'll meet ya at the top of the coconut tree. And then the murders began.
0points
#246
For many days we had been tempest-tossed. Six times had the darkness closed over a wild and terrific scene, and returning light as often brought but renewed distress, for the raging storm increased in fury until on the seventh day all hope was lost. And then the murders began...
0points
#247
Howard Roark laughed. And then the murders began. (The Fountainhead)
0points
#248
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. And then the murders began. (A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)
0points
#249
Well I have something to tell you and it won't take long. And then the mirders began.- snuggle puppy
0points
#250
It was Wang Lung's marriage day. And then the murders began. -The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck.
0points
#251
"TOM!"
No answer.
"Tom!"
No answer.
"What's gone with that boy, I wonder? You TOM!"
No answer. ...and then the murders began.
No answer.
"Tom!"
No answer.
"What's gone with that boy, I wonder? You TOM!"
No answer. ...and then the murders began.
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
0points
#252
I’d never planned on stealing someone else’s life. Really, at a glance, you wouldn’t think there was anything wrong with my old life. And then the murders began.
(The glittering court by Richelle Mead.)
(The glittering court by Richelle Mead.)
0points
#253
On the fifteenth of May in the jungle of Nool, in the heat of the day in the cool of the pool, he was splashing, enjoying the jungle's great joys, when Horton the elephant heard a small noise...and then the murders began. (Horton Hears a Who - Dr. Seuss)
0points
#254
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and then the murders began. A Tale of Two Cities
0points
#255
It was the Joy of the Sunset that brought us to speech. And then the murders began.
William Hope Hodgson, "The Night Land"
0points
#256
One day, I was sitting in my study surrounded by many books of different kinds, for it has long been my habit to engaged in pursuit of knowledge. My mind had grown weary as I had spent the day struggling with the weighty tomes of various authors whom I have been studying for some time... And so the murders began. (The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan)
0points
#257
Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy. And then the murders began. Shel Silverstein, "The Giving Tree."
0points
#258
The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another his mother called him "WILD THING!" and Max said "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed without eating anything. And then the murders began. Maurice Sendak, "Where the Wild Things Are."
0points
#259
Leslie was at the end of her rope. She’d been to every doctor in the Los Angeles area, and nobody could help her. As it happens, her stepmother is Suzanne Somers, an expert in health, beauty and fitness. Suzanne knows all the gurus, besides being one herself. But none of them could fix Leslie’s problem. And then the murders began...
(Virgin, JJ. “The Virgin Diet.”)
0points
#260
It was an afternoon in late September.
In the pleasant little city of Stillwater, Mr. Popper, the house painter, was going home from work...and then the murders began.
(Mr. Popper's Penguins, Richard & Florence Atwater)
In the pleasant little city of Stillwater, Mr. Popper, the house painter, was going home from work...and then the murders began.
(Mr. Popper's Penguins, Richard & Florence Atwater)
0points