Every time those words come to mind I can’t help thinking about Snoopy, sitting on the roof of his doghouse, typing the opening sentence to yet another novel.
I always assumed that these words were nothing more than just a cute line, penned by Charles Shultz for his imaginative little beagle. But not so; they comprise the actual first line of the 1830 book, Paul Clifford, written by the Victorian era novelist, Edward Bulwer-Lytton; who much preferred the title, Sir Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. Here’s the first (really long) sentence:
“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”
This type of florid, melodramatic prose is long out of style, but the Dark and Stormy Night phrase remains, helped, perhaps, by Snoopy, as a taunt to those of us who write novels. I mean, let’s face it, it really is a great line, but, alas, a line that probably will never be used again.
In honor of great (or not-so-great) first lines, I put together, what I call, Writer’s Wallpaper for my computer desktop. Here’s what it looks like:
The picture is of a late-night storm rolling into Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula (where I once lived) from Lake Superior. Something about it inspires me. I don’t know if it is the outright starkness of it, the drama it invokes or what; but whenever I see it, it brings to mind Bulwer-Lytton’s famous line. So I added the text to the picture, and now every time I boot my computer it reminds me I’m a writer.
If you’re a novelist, a budding novelist, writer of non-fiction or just like the picture, I’m giving this wallpaper away for free. Click the link to go to my main web site and download it. And while you’re there, take a look around; sign up for my free Sherlock Holmes adventures or take advantage of the other free stuff I offer. And be sure to let your crit-partners and/or members of your writer’s group know about this offer. If we work together, who knows whom we might inspire?
Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/rpAqYP
SDG
