Entering competitions for short stories is something I enjoy doing. One of the most taxing is the one that gives you the first or the last line of the story. It was Philip Hensher, columnist with the Independent newspaper, who said that a novel could recover from a terrible first line, but that the last line is what it leaves the reader with. Worth thinking about in the context of a life or a meeting or a friendship. Today could be the last day.
About
The life and thoughts of Freda Marshall, a retired Church of Scotland minister living amongst the mountains and glens of Argyll.Pages
True. Joyce’s ‘Portrait of the artist …’ suffers from a shocking first page . So much in fact that i refused to read any further until someone convinced me to stick with it. And it does get better from about page 3. The rest is classic 🙂