From: seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com   
      
   On 9/5/14, 7:28 PM, William Vetter wrote:   
   > On Thursday, September 4, 2014 10:38:18 PM UTC-4, Kevin C wrote:   
   >> On Monday, September 1, 2014 12:55:18 AM UTC-4, J.Pascal wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> Setting and genre *in the first sentence*... really?  Soon, yes. But   
   "first sentence" is just crazy talk.  My favorite first sentence ever? "There   
   are some mistakes that "Oops" just doesn't cover."  Can you tell me the   
   setting or the genre?  Of    
   course you can't.   
   >>   
   >>   
   >>   
   >> OTOH, what does this tell you?   
   >>   
   >> "Fergus slipped into an alley behind the dungeons and checked the talisman   
   one last time."   
   >>   
   > How many published stories begin with a sentence without genre tags in it?    
   I think most of them.   
   >   
      
      
   	I'd suspect you're right. Within the first few paragraphs, or pages for   
   a book, yes, but first sentence? Well, let's check my own:   
      
   	Boundary: "Dear God, I'm going to die," muttered Joe Buckley, as the   
   SUV bounced from one rutted pothole to another.   
   	I don't see any genre tags in this one at all, certainly nothing to   
   tell you this is a hard-SF novel set 30 years in the future. Unless   
   you're a Baen Books fan and notice "Joe Buckley".   
      
   	Threshold: "I'll sue all your asses, you little bastard! I didn't   
   invest my money in your pie-in-the-sky operation to --"   
   	No real clue there, either.   
      
   	Portal: I still have no answers.   
   	Nope.   
      
   	Grand Central Arena: "Watch the next keyhole, Ariane, that bastard's   
   going to try to force a scrape -- or worse!"   
   	Well, this one's a LITTLE closer. There's some odd terminology here   
   that might clue you in, but it could just be some sport that the reader   
   isn't familiar with, or maybe something more serious than a sport with   
   terminology you don't know.   
      
   	Spheres of Influence: The slender blond man looked up from his desk,   
   startled -- DuQuesne had, of course, been suppressing the station   
   security systems.   
   	THIS one's much closer. An individual person suppressing security on a   
   "station" does sound very science-fictional, and this also tells you   
   that they must be on, or in, the relevant "station.   
      
   	Digital Knight: I clicked on the JAPES icon.   
   	Nope. All that tells me is that it's in some world with computers that   
   use icons.   
      
   	Diamonds Are Forever: "You're getting MARRIED?!"   
   	Not a clue as to setting or genre here.   
      
   	Phoenix Rising: Warm light spilled from the windows of the estate,   
   windows that were set in solid stone, warded with spell and steel;   
   comfort with protection.   
   	This one is undoubtedly getting most of the job done; while "estate" is   
   a bit hazy, stone-set windows warded with spells tells us we're in   
   fantasy and probably in epic or maybe gritty, but probably medievaloid   
   setting.   
      
   	Polychrome: The gray Dove, slightly larger than the others, sat silent   
   on the branch, a branch tinged with the color of twilight shadows and   
   pre-dawn sky.   
   	Hints are here -- the capitalization of the word "Dove" may signal a   
   particular role for the bird, but it's not clear exactly what the   
   setting is or the genre is, except it's PROBABLY a fantasy-type setting.   
   Maybe.   
      
   	Castaway Planet: Sakura Kimei lay as still as possible on the set of   
   pipes, listening for the creature's approach.   
   	The word "creature" signals we're dealing with something in the   
   speculative fiction genre, but not whether it's horror, SF, or fantasy   
   of some sort. "Pipes" *may* signal a setting that's relatively modern,   
   but it's hardly certain.   
      
   	Phoenix in Shadow: This is...  most interesting.   
   	Not a single clue in this one.   
      
   	So, including all of my completed published or to-be-published books,   
   we have one that clearly signals genre and general setting, two that're   
   pretty suggestive, and nothing for the rest, which indicates that the   
   vast majority don't give you a clue in the first sentence.   
      
   --   
                         Sea Wasp   
                           /^\   
                           ;;;	   
   Website: http://www.grandcentralarena.com  Blog:   
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