So, I was reminded today of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest: www.bulwer-lytton.com/. As some of you may know, it is an annual competition for the best first sentence of a work of literature. Some of them are truly entertaining to read.
I was wondering if y'all'd be interested in a little mini-version of that here, except focused on the Magic World? If you were to write a Magic Novel, how would you begin it? I'd rather not judge such a thing, because I am no expert on Magic Lore, and I imagine that a lot of the subtleties would go over my head, but I'd be happy to host, and vote, and potentially even participate.
Anyway, the rules are simple and I'm going to steal them directly from Bulwer-Lytton. Really, there is only one (kinda two) guideline(s):
Sentences may be of any length but we strongly recommend that entries not go beyond 50 or 60 words. Entries must be “original” (as it were) and previously unpublished.
So, Magical sentences away!
(P.S. if you guys aren't into this, that's okay. I come from YMtC, and up there contests and competitions are like most of the cool things going on.)
So, I was reminded today of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest: www.bulwer-lytton.com/. As some of you may know, it is an annual competition for the best first sentence of a work of literature. Some of them are truly entertaining to read.I was wonderi
Tezzeret awoke to find that his clothes had, once more, vanished in the night, and raising his newly remade fist to the heavens, the Planeswalker howled, "Quit screwing with me, Bolas!"
(This is, of course the first sentence of Tezzeret Punches Out The Multiverse.)
Tezzeret awoke to find that his clothes had, once more, vanished in the night, and raising his newly remade fist to the heavens, the Planeswalker howled, "Quit screwing with me, Bolas!"(This is, of course the first sentence of Tezzeret Punches Out Th
Tezzeret awoke to find that his clothes had, once more, vanished in the night, and raising his newly remade fist to the heavens, the Planeswalker howled, "Quit screwing me Bolas!"
(This is, of course the first sentence of Tezzeret Punches Out The Multiverse.)
The village of Layton was one of Bant's more prosperous locales, with lush green fields, burbling brooks that flowed year round, the sweet fragance of blooming flowers that left the taste of mint on one's tongue, and a titanic ash-grey dragon that bellowed triumphantly as it started to burn Layton to the ground.
The village of Layton was one of Bant's more prosperous locales, with lush green fields, burbling brooks that flowed year round, the sweet fragance of blooming flowers that left the taste of mint on one's tongue, and a titanic ash-grey dragon that be
Ha ha. Thanks you guys. I'm really enjoying all of these, and I'm amazed that we're still on topic. I guess I will add one in a little bit. I have to run some errands first.
Ha ha. Thanks you guys. I'm really enjoying all of these, and I'm amazed that we're still on topic. I guess I will add one in a little bit. I have to run some errands first.
"The young priest stepped into his new quarters, adorned with lime green Shag, and glittering torches, with his scantily-clad man servant, Pylar, crouching anxiously in the corner, and he quietly thought, "So. . . this is how they do it in en-Vec."
"The young priest stepped into his new quarters, adorned with lime green Shag, and glittering torches, with his scantily-clad man servant, Pylar, crouching anxiously in the corner, and he quietly thought, "So. . . this is how they do it in en-Vec."
It was not unusual for Jaya Ballard to be bored--quite the opposite, in fact; however, the overwhelming fog of boredom she had been drifting through for the past week was unprecedented, and it had only become worse over time as those familiar with the task mage's erratic moods had quickly found reasons to absent themselves from first the room, then the building, and finally the town when the pall had shown no sign of lifting, knowing that when her funk inevitably broke it would take everything in range with it in a radius directly proportional to its duration.
Expanding the previous idea:It was not unusual for Jaya Ballard to be bored--quite the opposite, in fact; however, the overwhelming fog of boredom she had been drifting through for the past week was unprecedented, and it had only become worse over ti
The man in red sighed, ennui eating at his soul; he shouldn't be apathetic, he thought, he should be tense, nervous, even excited - but he wasn't, which was odd; after all, it isn't every day you set out to kill a god.
Really like zamm's entry as Jaya Ballard is one of my favourite characters. Not least because (with a bit of a stretch) you can translate her name into Victory Song.
"It was a dark and stormy night..."The man in red sighed, ennui eating at his soul; he shouldn't be apathetic, he thought, he should be tense, nervous, even excited - but he wasn't, which was odd; after all, it isn't every day you set out to kill a g
Ashling looked through bosk, through its tangles and dank air, into the sun, And ashling felt the warm embrace of freedom that she had once indulged before.
Ashling looked through bosk, through its tangles and dank air, into the sun, And ashling felt the warm embrace of freedom that she had once indulged before.
Telzer listened as the chldren outside were discussing what would be the scariest sound one could hear, and while the screams of souls being forced into eternal slavery and the laughter of Rakdos were both strong contenders, years as an assistant in Izzet labs ensured him the answer was "Oops".
Telzer listened as the chldren outside were discussing what would be the scariest sound one could hear, and while the screams of souls being forced into eternal slavery and the laughter of Rakdos were both strong contenders, years as an assistant in
Telzer listened as the chldren outside were discussing what would be the scariest sound one could hear, and while the screams of souls being forced into eternal slavery and the laughter of Rakdos were both strong contenders, years as an assistant in Izzet labs ensured him the answer was "Oops".
Some people think it's easy to sneak around while wearing a full suit of armor, but I assure you I've trained and practiced for countless hours and I'm still not very good at it.
Some people think it's easy to sneak around while wearing a full suit of armor, but I assure you I've trained and practiced for countless hours and I'm still not very good at it.
John's life flashed before his eyes. It was yellow.
That is two sentences. Add a semicolon and you could probably submit it though. Short and simple - yet amusing. Reminds me of a couple sentences from a different contest:
"Pika ... chu, thought Pikachu."
"The door, which had been left open a few inches, was ajar."
Mostly because of the length - not because it is bad. Lyttle Lytton sentences seem to be much shorter than Bulwer-Lytton ones.
That is two sentences. Add a semicolon and you could probably submit it though. Short and simple - yet amusing. Reminds me of a couple sentences from a different contest: "Pika ... chu, thought Pikachu.""The door, which had been left open a few inc
its a refrence to farris builers day off, its the english teacher.
That's not how one spells "Bueller" - and it has little/nothing to do with Magic, nor does it make sense as the first sentence of a novel/novella/story/tale/or any other literary fictional work. Plus it's a tad stale by now. Or "Ferris."
its a refrence to farris builers day off, its the english teacher.[/quote]That's not how one spells "Bueller" - and it has little/nothing to do with Magic, nor does it make sense as the first sentence of a novel/novella/story/tale/or any other litera
Marchuk was a scholar, which would normally be unremarkable in a plane that was near-to-bursting with sorcerers; but Marchuk was also a Goblin, and that made him singularly fascinating.
Marchuk was a scholar, which would normally be unremarkable in a plane that was near-to-bursting with sorcerers; but Marchuk was also a Goblin, and that made him singularly fascinating.
Inji watched the slow creep of the water as it poured across his very rare, very expensive Nayan carpets and wondered just what it was that the Commodore found so interesting about this "indoor plumbing" nonsense.
Inji watched the slow creep of the water as it poured across his very rare, very expensive Nayan carpets and wondered just what it was that the Commodore found so interesting about this "indoor plumbing" nonsense.
There are some who consider death a minor inconvenience, but when Berenov thought of it at all, it was as something that happened to other people (although he wasn't a person himself).
There are some who consider death a minor inconvenience, but when Berenov thought of it at all, it was as something that happened to other people (although he wasn't a person himself).
