How Good Are You at Writing Opening Lines?

[J. Kingston Pierce]

Here’s something we’ve never tried at The Rap Sheet before--a contest, with a real money prize. A few weeks ago, we were approached by New Jersey writer Jack Getze, author of the recently released Big Numbers (Hillard & Harris), the first installment in his series starring a down-on-his-luck and trouble-prone stockbroker named Austin Carr. Getze, a former Los Angeles Times financial and economics reporter, asked if we could help him find an opening line for his second Carr novel, Big Money. He thought what he had wasn’t good enough, and he was hoping that The Rap Sheet’s well-read and intelligent audience could suggest something better. We were reluctant at first, but were impressed both by Big Numbers and by Getze’s sudden ubiquity in the blogosphere, as he talked about the long history of his first novel at M.J. Rose’s Backstory site, and submitted to Marshal Zeringue’s Page 69 Test. So, we invited Getze to lay out the terms of his proposed first-line competition, which we have posted here.

Think you’re good enough to give Getze what he wants? Feel free to try. The top prize is $250 (U.S.), but everyone who enters this competition (the top 50, for sure) will receive a free copy of Big Numbers. In addition, The Rap Sheet will publish the winning entry and some of the better runner-ups in a future post.

[Gar Anthony Haywood]

Never mind his contest---why would Getze want to name his character after a real-life, '70s era NBA basketball player?

[Jack Getze]

Austin's mother was a big fan.

[Dennis Leppanen]

Was Getze at MWA's confab in South Miami? I recall the name---not the place. Ha!

Anyway, someone is right, Austin Carr was a helluva sharp-shooting guard for Notre Dame in the era that I followed sports.

I thought he was from the west coast. What's the question...?

[Jack Getze]

At Sleuthfest in Miami Beach last month, I spent a lot of time at the pool bar with one of the world's top bartenders, Elke. Perhaps we shared a drink, Dennis. My memory is fogged.

My character's mother was a big basketball fan, a catholic trained to cheer for Notre Dame in all things. And when she got married to a guy named Carr, and had a baby, she named the child Austin after her favorite player. Does this not work? It's just backstory. Never appears in either of the two books. But maybe I'll have to slip it in later, huh?

[Dennis Leppanen]

Hell yes, it works. And---I remember Elke.

And---Jack, I remember you. You sat on the panal on 'The Road to Publication' on Sunday morning. Sat to my far right, yes, you were the one with the nervous alcoholic tic---I never forget a fellow journalist.

Just kidding, he was great gang, and insightful, and...

[Gar Anthony Haywood]

It works if you say it does, because as the author, you're the boss. I just think naming your character after a real life person of some fame can create connections for the reader you don't necessarily want, especially if you don't explain your reasons for it. Granted, few in this case are going to make the connection---just old school b'ball fans like me---but what if those that do can't stand Notre Dame and can't think of anything else every time they come across Carr's name? Also---and I don't mean to sound judgmental here, but---mining the real world for a fictional character's name is often the easy way out some amateurs take when they can't come up with something original. "Aw, hell, I'll just call him Rick Mahorn. That sounds cool."