Albert Einstein said:
"Your imagination is your preview of lifes' coming attractions."
I have read several times that it is very important to start my book or website with an engaging and interesting first line to draw potential readers in. I guess I am not a good writer or blogger because I do not seem to be able to find good, interesting, engaging, captivating lines to interest many readers in my literary labors. Maybe I should record many first lines from books so I can possibly assimilate the ability to write a good first line? Can I find wisdom that way? Will I finally discover the Holy Grail which is my search for spiritual truth? Wambly Bald told Brassaï that the first sentence in a work is the sentence that counts the most and the other sentences "will follow like sheep." This page of my website will show my attempt to assimilate the wisdom of the first line by practicing the writing of previously written first lines:
I am living at the Villa Borghese.
I guess I could start my writing with "I live at the Winrock Villas but Winrock Villas don't have the allure that a famous sounding place like Villa Borghese does, which in reality, illicits a real place in Rome rather than in Paris which is where Henry Miller lived while writing this book.
From Ernest Hemingway:
Then there was the bad weather.
The first line of A Movable Feast.
Well that is certainly a unique first line. I would never have thought to begin my writing with a sentence as if we were already in the middle of a conversation. It seems I may be mentally stuck in a very narrow intellectual box.🤔 Ernest Hemingway then went on to describe a wintry scene at Place Contrescarpe which makes me wish I could live in Paris every September. 😄 I am always in Paris during the hot month of August. Hemingway's description makes me consider, very seriously, a trip to Paris in September because that would be a great compromise between hot August and cold December. .
Call ME ISHMAEL. ...This is the first sentence of Moby Dick, or The White Whale. I noticed that the first 2 first lines are both quite short. I decided to record this first line for my third choice because it is very short indeed. If that is what I need for a good first line, I could write Call me Michael at the beginning of my book. I don't know, that does not seem to work so well for me. The result is not so iconic. It does provide a sense of familiarity as does "Call me Ismael" but to copy Herman Melville may be plagiarism. And as a biblical figure, my name illicits a completely different perspective than does "Ishmael" which is a character of isolation whereas Michael is a heroic archangel character which is not my role in life or in my writings.
Rabelais lived from around 1483 until 1552.
Ultimate wit and satire
The first line of this book does not prepare you for the extreme satiracle humor you are about to encounter. The Collage de la Sorbonne judged it to be obsene for much the same reasons that James Joyces' Ulysses was banned. Also, much like in Luthers' writings, there is a good amount of scatology. Rabelais often will disrespect the royal and theological authorities making them out to be no better than a group of clowns.
First line from Pantagruel:
It will be neither fruitless nor idle to recall for you the primary source and origen of our good giant Pantagruel for I note that all the fine historiographers have done likewise in their chronicles not only those of the Greeks, Arabs, and Ethnics but also the authors of Holy Writ, as Monsignor Saint luke particularly and Saint Matthew.
The first line of The Sun Also Rises: "Robert Cohn was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton" is a basic biographical fact. It does not seem to me to be a statement that is meant to lure potential readers to continue reading further. On the other hand, I do not like boxing as a sport. Many people do like boxing and many people LOVE boxing so many people just might be lured by this first line to continue reading the book. Now, the first line along with the second line DO interest me quite a lot. The second line is "Do not think I am very much impressed by that as a boxing title, but it meant a lot to Cohn". Jake Barnes definitely needs true heroism to impress him. Robert Cohn's ability to box actually does take on much significance later in the novel when the major motifs of the story come to a head when the jealousies, insecurities, and competitiveness of the main male characters explode into the chaos of Robert Cohn attacking Michael and Pedro. The fact that Cohn was a middleweight champion becomes very important now because throughout the novel, Robert Cohn is not known for aggression at all; he takes a lot of ribbing and jokes at his expense and many insults with no violent opposition at all. Thus, the first line of the book is a great reminder of what Robert Cohn actually can do to someone. His explosive attack on the other main male characters of the book occurs with the atmosphere of the bull fighting and the violence of the bulls and their deaths.
IN THE TOWER OF BASILICA DE LA VOTA NACIONAL, WE WERE ABLE TO RELAX AND SNACK A BIT. I DO NOT KNOW IF ALL THE TOWERS HAVE CAFES IN THEM. WE CLIMBED THE TOWER THAT IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE CHURCH. I DO NOT KNOW IF PEOPLE WERE CLIMBING THE TOWER ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE BECAUSE WE DID NOT SEE ANYONE IN THAT TOWER. WE DID SEE PEOPLE CLIMBING THE THIRD TOWER WHICH IS NOT AS HIGH AS THE TWO FRONT SIDE TOWERS. WE ORDERED TWO HOT TEAS, A TEA WITH MILK, ONE HOT CHOCOLATE AND TWO HUMITAS. I CAN NOT GET ENOUGH OF THOSE HUMITAS.
THIS VIDEO IS A RATHER LONG WALKING TOUR AROUND THE AREA OF THE HOTEL WHERE WE WERE STAYING. I WAS LOOKING FOR THE BAKERY WHERE I HAVE SHOPPED A COUPLE OF TIMES ALREADY AND FOR A DESSERT PLACE CALLED GELATO MIX. I FOUND THEM AS WELL AS A COUPLE OF OTHER INTERESTING PLACES. WE CAN SEE HAPPY PANDA CHINESE RESTAURANT FROM OUR HOTEL WINDOW.
THE BAKERY IS NEXT TO THE HOTEL; PANIFICADORA AMBATO. GELATO MIX IS LOCATED ONE CITY BLOCK FURTHER DOWN AVE. 12 DE OCTUBRE. CAFÉ QUITO IS AT THE SWISSÔTEL QUITO WHICH IS ACROSS THE STREET FROM OUR HOTEL. THERE IS ALSO AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT CALLED LA BRICIOLA AT THE CORNER OF AV. ISABELLS CATÓLICA AND FRANCISCO SALAZAR. SAN HONORÉ AND MUSA RESTAURANTE ARE ALSO GOOD SOUNDING PLACES IN THEIS AREA.
OH, AND WHILE AT CAROLINA PARK, WE TRIED THE ESPUMILLA. WE DID NOT REALLY LIKE IT. THE TOP PART WAS RATHER FUNKY. THE TEXTURE IS ODD AND THE FLAVORS DID NOT STAND OUT ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR THE STRANGE TEXTURE. WE DID LIKE THE BOTTOM PART THAT CONSISTS OF SEVERAL TYPES OF FRUIT PIECES SOAKING IN A DELICIOUS RED SAUCE. ESPUMILLA IS A TRADITIONAL ECUADORIAN DESSERT. IT IS A FOAM, NOT AN ICE CREAM, WHICH IS WHY IT IS NOT MELTING AS VENDORS SELL IT IN THE STREETS. IT IS MERINGUE WITH EGG WHITES, SUGAR, AND PUREED FRUIT. THE FRUIT IS SOAKING IN A RED BERRY SYRUP. THAT LAST PART IS GOOD.
WE SPENT SUNDAY IN SHOPPING CENTERS AND PARKS. WE FIRST WENT TO PLAZA OF THE AMERICAS. IT IS REALLY SMALL WITH FEW SHOPPING OPTIONS. IT DOES HAVE A FEW NICE CAFES AND A LARGE CINEMA. THE PLAZA OF THE AMERICAS IS SMALL BUT COZY. IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE A SQUARE PARK WITH SHOPS, CAFES, AND CINEMARK SURROUNDING IT. AFTER WE LEFT PLAZA DE LAS AMERICAS, WE WALKED DOWN TO PARQUE CAROLINA. WE STOPPED TO TAKE A PHOTO AT A FUNKY STATUE. I COULD NOT FIND A NAME FOR THIS STATUE OF FOUR CHILDREN SITTING ON A BENCH TALKING TO EACH OTHER. IT IS IN A TINY PARK AND MAY BE CALLED DESCANSO. WE THEN CONTINUED WALKING UNTIL WE REACHED THE VERY LARGE PARK. IT HAS A VIVARIUM HERE. IT IS A SMALL SAMPLE OF REPTILE SPECIMENS INDIGIONOUS TO ECUADOR. THERE IS A SUPERMAXI SHOPPING CENTER ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE SOUTHERN END OF CAROLINA PARK SO WE WENT THERE TO BUY COLD MEDICINE FOR RENO WHO MAY HAVE GOTTEN A HEAD COLD. WE RELAXED AT A SPECIAL PLACE CALLED REPUBLIC DE CAFÉ. THERE IS A VIDEO HERE ABOUT JUST THAT. IMMEDIATLY ON THE SOUTHERN END OF PARQUE CAROLINA IS A METRO STATION. ONCE I SAW THE STATION ENTRANCE, I DECIDED WE SHOULD TRY IT OUT. IT IS GREAT. IT IS STILL NEW AND MADE TO BE EASILY USED BY THE MOST UNITIATED PERSONS IN METRO USE. IT ALSO COSTS ONLY .45 CENTS FOR ADULTS. I AM HAPPY TO HAVE USED IT. I TOOK A VIDEO OF IT WITH MY CELL PHONE SO I MAY UPLOAD IT HERE ALTHOUGH VIDEOS FROM MY CELL PHONE COME UP SMALLER HERE. WE GOT OUT AT PARQUE EJIDO METRO STATION. AFTER TAKING A COUPLE OF PHOTOS OF WRITERS (THERE ARE MANY STATUES OF POETS AND NOVELISTS HERE), WE WAKED THE REST OF THE WAY TO THE HOTEL.