Writing a first sentence fills me with a special kind of dread. So, here are a few great first sentences other people wrote instead:

“It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.” Matilda, Roald Dahl

“All children, except one, grow up.” Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

“Marley was dead, to begin with.” A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

“’Where’s Papa going with that axe?’ said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.” Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White

“Kidnapping children is not a good idea. All the same, sometimes it has to be done.” Island of the Aunts, Eva Ibbotson

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis