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)
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#121
We were somewhere near Barstow when the drugs began to take hold. And then the murders began.
1point
#122
It is often said that America "invented" democracy. And then the murders began.
- America, by Jon Stewart
1point
#123
When i stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home... and then the murders began.
S.E. Hinton " the outsiders"
S.E. Hinton " the outsiders"
1point
#124
Once there was a tree....
and she loved a little boy.
And everyday the boy would come
and he would gather her leaves
and make them into crowns
and play king of the forest. And then the murders began. (The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein)
and she loved a little boy.
And everyday the boy would come
and he would gather her leaves
and make them into crowns
and play king of the forest. And then the murders began. (The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein)
1point
#125
We were in class when the headmaster came in, followed by a 'new fellow,' not wearing the school uniform, and a school servant carrying a large desk.
And the murders began.
Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
1point
#126
The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years - if it did end- began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain. And then the murders began.
1point
#127
Although not everyone may realize it, the origin of the English language can be dated with relative precision. And then the murders began.
(Websters Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language - 1989)
1point
#128
"Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her. And then the murders began." - Emma by Jane Austen
1point
#129
Yes! The horse agreed enthusiastically. Posideon can come in too! We will eat you both! Seafood! Seafood!
And then the murders began...
(Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth)
1point
#130
In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon. And then the murders began. (Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown)
1point
#131
It began as a mistake. And then the murders began.
1point
#132
"A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism. And then the murders began"
1point
#133
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice 'without pictures or conversation?' And then the murders began..
1point
#134
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. And then the murders began.
From the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
1point
#135
There once was a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself--not just sometimes, but always. And then the murders began.
(The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster)
(The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster)
1point
#136
Scuffy was sad.
Scuffy was cross.
And then the murders began.
(Scuffy the Tugboat, Gertrude Crampton)
Scuffy was cross.
And then the murders began.
(Scuffy the Tugboat, Gertrude Crampton)
1point
#137
I am Sam. Sam I am. And then the murders began
1point
#138
Who's there?.... and then the murders began
Hamlet
1point
#139
The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play, so we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day. I sat there with Sally. We sat here we two and we said 'How we wish we had something to do. And then the murders began. (The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss)
1point
#140
Thomas: I spend my time pulling coaches about, ready for you to take out on journeys!
Narrator: The other engines laughed.
Thomas: Why can't I pull passenger trains, too?!
Henry, Edward, and Gordon: You're too impatient. You'd be sure to leave something behind.
Thomas: Rubbish! I'll show you!........and then the murders began.
Narrator: The other engines laughed.
Thomas: Why can't I pull passenger trains, too?!
Henry, Edward, and Gordon: You're too impatient. You'd be sure to leave something behind.
Thomas: Rubbish! I'll show you!........and then the murders began.
Thomas' Train/A Big Day for Thomas
1point