Types of Opening Sentences: Names and Examples
Opening sentences set the tone for a story and draw readers in. Here are different types of opening sentences:
1. Action
- Example: 'The stranger came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snowfall of the year, over the down, walking as it seemed from Bramblehurst railway station, and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand.' - The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
2. Setting
- Example: 'When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.' - To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. Character
- Example: 'Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.' - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
4. Dialogue
- Example: 'When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.' - Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
5. Thought
- Example: 'Where's Papa going with that axe?' said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. - Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
6. Statement
- Example: 'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.' - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
7. World Building
- Example: 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an ooty smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat — it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.' - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Each type of opening sentence serves a different purpose, but all aim to capture the reader's attention and draw them into the narrative.