Famous First Lines as Writing Prompts: How to Spark Creativity Without Reinventing the Wheel
There’s something magical about a really good opening line. It doesn’t just start a story - it grabs you and pulls you in before you’ve had time to decide. When I’m teaching writing, that first line is often the moment students freeze. They’ve got an idea… but where do you begin?
That’s why I started using famous first lines as creative writing prompts.
At first, I only had a set of YA openers pulled from books they’d actually read and loved. We talked about how they worked, what they set up, and how tone is established in just a few words. Then I handed them over to students and asked them to continue the story in any direction they wanted.
The results were some of the most imaginative things I’d read all year.
So I made more. I created Dystopian and Sci-Fi sets for when I was teaching genre writing units, and the structure always helped students find momentum, especially those who didn’t see themselves as natural writers.
Because here’s the thing:
You don’t always need to come up with the perfect first line.
Sometimes you just need a place to start.
Why Famous First Lines Work
◆ They’re instantly engaging – A great first line makes you stop and say wait, what?
◆ They model strong tone and style – You can sense genre, mood, and voice within seconds
◆ They take the pressure off – Students don’t have to create an opening from scratch meaning they can respond instead of panic
We always discuss a few as a class first, then I pair students up and assign each pair a different line. They work on continuing the opening together. Later, we do a swap and give peer feedback. It turns into a collaborative exercise that builds confidence and shows how different writers run with the same spark.
Some of My Favourite Famous First Lines
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” – 1984
(A masterclass in setting and unease — Orwell builds tension in just fourteen words.)
“The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel.” – Neuromancer
(Distorted familiarity and disorientation — pure cyberpunk atmosphere.)
“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.” – I Capture the Castle
(A narrator you immediately want to know more about — strange, intimate, and unforgettable.)
“There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” – The Graveyard Book
(Sets the tone, the genre, and the stakes in one sentence — eerie and urgent.)
“Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family. No one is a criminal. No one is an addict. No one is a failure." – We Were Liars
(Instant intrigue. Who? Why? And what’s being hidden? It's minimalism with weight.)
A Note for the Tired Teacher
If you’re feeling stretched, flat, or just plain done - I feel you.
Sometimes writing feels impossible to teach. Sometimes students resist every prompt. But there is always a way back in. And sometimes that way is just… a sentence. A strange, beautiful, slightly jarring sentence that lights something up again.
That’s the power of a first line.
And it might just be the spark they need.
Want to try it for yourself?
◆ You can download my Famous First Lines Writing Prompts (YA, Dystopian, and Sci-Fi) from my store or on TpT.
◆ Ready-to-use. Classroom tested. No prep needed.
Explore them now, and see where the story goes.
