The secrets behind the TwitterLit selection process; browse TwitterLit's thematic entries

I choose first lines for TwitterLit for any number of reasons. Usually, it's because the line makes me want to know what happens next ("Until she ran out of oxygen, Anna was willing to believe she was taking part in a PBS special"). But I'll also select a line because it's funny ("Why were my kids so uninformed about roadkill?") or intriguingly brief ("So I'll tell you") or from an unexpected source ("My mother didn't try to stab my father until I was six, but she must have shown signs of oddness before that") or just plain odd ("Fakebusters are a rare breed of cat"). Or I choose it because I think that, taken on its own, the line is intriguing enough that it will rouse a reader's curiosity ("A few years back, I wrote a book about lobsters").

Who would write such a book? I want people to ask. What sort of book would have a first line like that?

I want to surprise people, to tickle their curiosity with the first lines I select. So while you may occasionally recognize a TwitterLit first line without having to click through to find out its source, you won't often. Any line that's too recognizable is out.

You may not have noticed, but I've also been playing with themes when selecting first lines for TwitterLit. On a number of occasions--in honor of the recent release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, for example--I have posted first lines on TwitterLit that are somehow appropriate for the date they're posted. I've decided to make these thematic posts more apparent to visitors to the site. You can now browse TwitterLit's thematic entries using a pulldown menu located at the top of TwitterLit's main page and in the sidebar.

So when you're checking out TwitterLit's latest literary teasers, see if you can't detect some guiding principle behind the day's selections. Then click over to TwitterLit to see if you've caught me.

Comments

[Debra]

You are my favourite twitterer! I love to start to day with the intrigue of lovely language.

[Medbie]

I love these little guys! I read 'em every day! :D

I think I know your theme for today!

[Debra Hamel]

Thank you, Debra! I like hearing that people are enjoying them.

So what's your guess, Medbie? Or did you already find out over at TwitterLit?

[Emily]

Me too! Am loving it -thanks.

[Debra Hamel]

Thanks, Emily! Well, now I'm especially happy that I went public with the thematic posts. Since I'm getting all this nice feedback.