It's true that the first sentence is one of the most important that you'll write in your novel, short story, etc. Without that grab, the reader is (usually) bored right off the bat, which, yes, is bad news.
In a recent post over on Gaiaonline on a topic entitled "The First Line," many people posted up their first sentences to share with others. I loved reading through them, because it really was a good example of both sentences to use and sentences not to use (more so the later, but hey, we're mostly amateurs over here). Head over yourself to check them out and see which ones grab your attention.
There are a billion ways to start your story, a billion different sentences to chose from. "So how do I pick one I know will draw people in" you ask? I have some suggestions, but keep in mind these are of opinion, and you may completely disagree with what I'm about to say.
First of all, I like a story with some good old action in it. Now action doesn't have to be a battle or some kick-ass fight going on. It doesn't have to be someone running for their life, or someone dying in the midst of war. Action can also include things like a heated/interesting argument between friends, enemies or children and parents. It can include someone in the middle of a sports game, or someone stumbling onto something unusual or scary or interesting. It can include something humorous or sad. The worst though, the absolute worst sentence wording to start with is in the middle of absolutely nothing. No action whatsoever. Things like "My name is such-and-such and I live in this-place." Or friends simply having a conversation about what they did last night, and that's it. I also dislike background info-dumps, but that's a whole other discussion topic for me to really get into. My stance is: when it comes to first sentences, SOMETHING has to be going on.
Prologues are just the worst for beginner writers, and I know this because I am a beginner and I have written prologues before. They're usually written with way too much background information, or add no meaning or purpose to the storyline in any way. A lot of beginning writers think they need to have a prologue. My advice is to wait on the prologue until you've finished writing the story. If after that you think it's missing something - add it on. But most of the time you'll find you've written what would have gone into the prologue into your actual story - spread out and consistent - and you'll be much more satisfied.
Anyway, what are you're opinions on first sentences, and which ones did you enjoy from the gaia post? I'd love to hear your first sentences as well. :)
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