First Line Meme

[paulamcg]

Snagged from muccamukk: post the first line of the first fic you posted each month. (I left out 100-word drabbles and repostings of pre-hiatus works. And I've included the dialogue tag even when it's a separate sentence.)

January
“Excuse me… Sir!” Desperate to get the clerk’s attention, I grip the edge of the marble counter and lean forward, trying to see behind it. “There’s a mistake here.”
The Angel of Charity, or This Awfully Long Month (Remus/Sirius, Lily/James, Alice/Frank, Mature)

February
There’s no light, and the door’s charmed closed for the night.
His Breath Is Warm But (Remus/Severus, Teen)

March
“You’ve moved me.” His Sirius’s tone is as nuanced as ever – playful, impatient, tender and suspicious all at once.
A Work of an Advanced Artist (Remus/Sirius, other Remus pairings mentioned, General)

April
“You insisted I try that flicked-out hairstyle that didn’t suit me at all.” I squeeze Alice’s limp hand, seeking eye contact with her, and her gaze shifts back from wandering along the hideous flowery curtain drawn around us, and I babble on, “And that swing skirt of yours – that I keep it, too, and because Remus’s old sweatshirt…”
Sharing Breaths (Amelia Bones/Nymphadora Tonks, Teen)

May
“He’s not my fiancé!” Now Alice has waved her wand too abruptly, and the tea mug hastens to the kitchen table and would topple over if Remus didn’t seize it.
Her Arm for Him to Hold (Alice/Frank, Remus/Sirius, James/Lily, Teen)

June
The waxing crescent moon is setting, leaving the stars to burn ever brighter – colder.
The Darkness of This Shore (Remus/Severus, past Remus/Sirius, Mature)

July
"The children of the prophecy? No, my friends' sons," Remus remembers replying.
Makes You Feel Young Again (Remus & Harry, past Remus/Sirius, General)

August
“Who's that?” What's he talking about?
Who's That? (Sirius/Remus, Teen)

September
Enjoying the feel of warm, smooth sand under his soles and between his toes, Remus keeps looking down until reaching the concrete steps.
Freedom They Can Reach (Remus/Sirius, James/Lily, Mature)

October
Steering her brand new Firebolt 2002 up towards the overcast winter sky, Cho chooses to focus for a while on the pleasure of flying.
To Know What She's Seeking (Cho/Luna, Cho & Roger, Teen)

November
There's no doubt about the best way for Sirius fucking Black to begin today's celebrations.
The Rainbow Theme (Sirius/Remus, James/Lily, Marlene/Dorcas, Amelia/OFC, Benjy/OFC, Teen)

December
Lily:
On the first day of Christmas/ Remus gave to me/ A portrait of my best friend.
The Twelve Days of Christmas (Remus/Sirius, James/Lily, G)

Comments

[a_belladonna]

Wow, congratulations on having a fic for each month! :D I could only get four months, so I'm not sure I want to participate. ;)
But that is incredibly well done! And all opening lines make me want to read the fics, you're really good at capturing the reader's attention.

[paulamcg]

Thank you for the congrats and praise! I suppose you've written quite a lot and a variety of fics this year, too, even if not something every month.

I've posted about sixty works on AO3 since the beginning of 2020, but written only two new fics per month, if I don't count the 100-word drabbles. That's the same amount of stories as last year, but the word count must be smaller. Oh, I've also cheated a bit here, because the first story I posted in January on AO3 was actually written and posted on Livejournal in May 2019.

I'm thrilled you feel my openings can manage to catch a reader's attention. When I compared my first lines with muccamukk's, I started wondering if some of mine sounded too boring, after all.

[a_belladonna]

Oh, it's always a little daunting to be comparing yourself to others. I always also feel self-conscious about my works when comparing them to others. Oh! She's so great at capturing emotions! And they're fantastic at describing atmospheres! And these people just effortlessly write long, epic stories! etc. etc.
I try to tell myself that I write stories I would like to read myself. :)

[paulamcg]

I'm afraid I'm seriously self-conscious only when comparing the amount of feedback I get with what other writers get. :) There have been so many disappointments since late 2019, and at worst it's been that I've been crying because it's looked like nobody wants my sad story. Perhaps I'm conceited, but I can't believe that my writing is so much worse than all those fics to which people give love at fests. I was so much looking forward to participating in Hoggywartyxmas (on LJ) because it's got the tradition of participants commenting a lot, on almost every work. I hope I'm learning something better again – to understand better that what I write (and continue to want to write) is perhaps simply not enjoyable and entertaining in the way particularly other seasonal gift fics are.

Thank you for giving me this chance to whine about this here in the depths of an earlier journal entry. :) ♥ Yes, let's keep writing the stories we feel we need – and reading them ourselves, at least, even though it would be lovely to have them received!

[paulamcg]

I want to give you the good news that there have been some comments still coming in, and that my fic no longer stands out so clearly as the one with the smallest number. Even though I still believe what I wrote above is not untrue, I also know I worry and whine too much, and I thank you for being there when I needed it. No need to reply, and definitely not to go to that community, particularly not because the works are still anonymous! :) ♥