I think the point is that it's easier and more effective to hook the reader with an intriguing idea or an interesting character than it is with a description of the weather, no matter how important to the mood or setting. The first lines of books within reach: This first line mentions the weather and does it in an interesting way, but it's overshadowed by the second half of the sentence. Clocks don't strike thirteen, so that's automatically interesting. Try and make your first line (first paragraph, first scene) one that grabs the reader and pulls him in. If you can honestly do that with the weather, then there's no problem. But if you could introduce your MC and the setting in a different, better way, why wouldn't you want to do that?
Yes, I was just thinking that. That said, I think there are no exact rules, and what these agents probably mean is that they, like most of us, wouldn't want to pick up a book and see that the first page is nothing but the narrator rambling on and on about the rain. But that doesn't mean that you couldn't talk about the weather as an opening, just that you have to do it in an interesting or unique way that will immediately draw the reader in. I personally found the sentence "It was a yellow day" intriguing, and if I picked up a book and saw that as the opening line, I'd probably keep reading, as long as you did the description in a colorful and interesting way. Although I have to say- "It was a yellow day" doesn't at all make me think of a day after a rain.. it makes me think of a sunny day in the middle of summer.. so you might want to elaborate on that a little more. Also, if you want to describe the weather and the setting, mixing it with some interesting dialogue is a way to open as well.
I wouldn't go into a full description of it right away. but if its important to the setting, character then I think its important.
sor... you can NOT quote copyrighted work without citing the source... so, you must either take down all those quotes, or add the proper attribution... that said, the last one certainly does prove my point that a great writer can make a great opening out of the weather!
Mam... I'm not so sure you're right about that. I went ahead and edited the post anyway, but I don't see anything in fair use about being required to cite your source. Obviously, it is good practice to do so, but to say that I can NOT do it? I don't think it was that big of a deal tbh... No one is trying to get over on anyone else here. http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html As for proving your point... I think the latter half of the sentence is more interesting than the first. Clocks striking thirteen > bright cold days.
i agree, cog... but quoting work of others without citation is a very serious matter and goes against our own site rules, so i feel it's necessary to respond simply with a quote from them and no further comment [relevant parts underlined by me]:
Oh, I didn't see the unattributed quoting. Yes, Fair Use does require that you identify the source of quoted material, and yes, failure to do so is grounds for a permanent ban from this site, although small slip-ups are usually deleted with a nastigram to the poster. To prevent these issues from derailing a thread, we strongly advise using the Report Post icon instead of posting about it in the thread. We now return you to the weather topic.
