First Line Contest Winners

Last month the English Department held a contest to see who could write the best first sentence of a novel.  Students looked at numerous examples from books in their classroom libraries and discussed the criteria for good opening sentences before writing their own.  Many of the submissions contained the perfect amount of suspense and intrigue to make one want to read more; when it came time to choose winners, though, three stood out for their originality:

• Holden Hunter: "'Sir, we've been trolled...'"

• Ethan Von Hoene: "Mother Earth thought that she wiped out humanity, but much like boomerangs, man comes back."

• Wynter Watkins: "School ended, literally, with a bang."

Each winner received a $5 gift card to Cold Stone Creamery. Congratulations, winners and participants, and may you turn those first sentences into completed novels!