The hardest part of writing is getting started. You have a story idea but don’t know how to begin. This is Me.

So, this week I decided to use prompts that I have found and since Halloween is coming up, I have written First Liners for three possible horror stories and ask you to decide if any are deserving of a short story. Without further ado, here they are.

First Liner #1

For Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt #282 use Opposite in 44 Words, I have chosen to write the first lines of a horror story in 44 words.

Jet black hair and piercing dark eyes, he walked directly opposite. A buxom blonde clung to his arm like fly paper. It couldn’t be, her ex-husband was dead. She called his name, he turned, a sinister grin on his lips. Damn, this is wrong!

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First Liner #2

My next First Liner comes from the September-October issue of Writer’s Digest magazine. It is their Your Story Contest #120, “write the first line of a story based on the [picture] prompt below.”

The moon provided little light through the cloudy mist and dense forest pines; Jason was cold and wet from hours of aimless wandering; as wolves howled in the distance Jason wondered, “Will I survive the night?”

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First Liner #3

My last First Liner comes from Reedsy Writing Prompts Short Story Contest #318. I chose the prompt, “Start your story with a character encountering a black cat.”

Every day since the first of October, everywhere Alice went a black cat would appear, a very large, very frightful black cat grinning like that Cheshire cat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

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How did I do? Are you frightfully frightened? Which one is most deserving of a short story. I’d love to hear from you. Please pick one and leave me your comments.