It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – pretty much any time you sit down and try to think of a memorable opening line to anything you write.
Indeed there is no more important task than nailing a good opening line to a book.
Great first lines from novels, such as Charles Dickens’ “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” from A Tale of Two Cities or Jane Austen’s “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,” from Pride and Prejudice, are bold statements of intent that stay with us forever. – Perfect lines that we could never imagine the author improving on.
Until now, that is.
Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy author Marc Laidlow came up with the wheeze of adding “and then the murders began” as a second sentence to improve the opening of any book, and Twitter took up his challenge with hilarious results across all genres. Especially children’s fiction.
Here are our favourite examples of what is now known as #LaidlawsRule. Tweet and comment below with any you would care to add!
https://twitter.com/marc_laidlaw/status/837537399416610818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Mr. and Mrs. Brown first met Paddington on a railway platform. & then the murders began.
— Shopagar Vacagon (@mcgrawfeathers) March 3, 2017
No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine. And then the murders began.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) March 3, 2017
Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot. And then the murders began.
— Justin (@kixprime) March 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/damonayoung/status/837629371770777600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone 84 days without taking a fish. And then the murders began. https://t.co/IRlMLs1OdL
— Darryl Daugherty, PI K.Err. (@DarrylDaugherty) March 3, 2017
@neilhimself In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And then the murders began.
— Johan Sandell (@sandell_johan) March 3, 2017
the sun did not shine, it was too wet to play, and then the murders began
— Kris Whitmore (A1717054) (@Kris_Whitmore) March 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/KyleTreasure/status/837704035121557504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
One sunny Sunday, the caterpillar was hatched out of a tiny egg. He was very hungry. And then the murders began. #LaidlawsRule
— Elizabeth Meg (@Scranshums) March 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/courtcan/status/837829499899228161
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.
@neilhimself @marc_laidlaw #LaidlawsRule pic.twitter.com/iIk4aQHcHs— nafunda (@nafunda) March 3, 2017
The UML is the successor to the wave of OOA&D methods that appeared in the late ’80s and early 90’s. Then the murders began.
— David Brockley (@DavidBrockley) March 3, 2017