Steal the First Sentence

One of my favorite tools in my writing bag of tricks is the steal the first sentence device.  Sometimes, when it is time to write and I don’t know what to write about, I will grab a random book, open to a random page, and let my eye fall on any sentence.

I write that sentence down, and then keep my hand moving, writing whatever comes through.  I will take my time forming the letters, so that my mind can have time to wander a bit.  I have unearthed many of my flash fiction pieces this way. 

Here is an example of a short one I wrote yesterday.  I also made some notes with ideas about continuing the story, but this piece of it is what came out first using this method:

About a month later, on a busy night, they called for a cab.  Ellen was tired of waiting, and she decided to start walking.  Eric said he would pick her up in the cab along their usual route.  Aunt Anna’s house was too far for walking.  It would have taken until Tuesday.  Ellen agreed and set out. 

Her mind was racing too fast to stand still.  She knew when she got like this that the only way to still her mind was to move her body.  Eric knew it too.  They had been together long enough that he had seen, first hand, what Ellen was like when her mind was caged.  She became like a lion in the zoo, pacing and getting nowhere. 

 

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