The First Sentence That Changes Everything: Anatomy of Great Opening Lines
“Call me Ishmael.” Three words. No context. No explanation. Yet you’re already wondering who Ishmael is, why he needs to be called that, and what kind of person opens a conversation this way. That’s the power of a great first sentence—it doesn’t just start a story, it creates an immediate contract between writer and reader. This sentence promises something. It asks a question without words. It makes you lean in. ...