Twelve opening lines to steal

A page of first sentences from the workshop shelf. Borrow the shape, not the words, and write past the second paragraph.

Each of these does one job: it puts you somewhere, with someone, in the middle of something. None of them explains. Notice how much they leave for you to work out.

Take one, keep its rhythm, replace every word, and keep going for a page. The exercise is not the sentence; it is what the sentence makes you write next.