Beginning a Blog Fiction

Call me Ishmael
It was the best of times, It was the worst of times.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...

What do all three of these phrases have in common? They are the first line to timeless story telling. In one line the tone of a story or character is placed in the mind of the reader: The Character is a cast-away, It's a time of contradictions, An epic fairy tale. The first line of a story can also draw in the reader by making them ask questions that they want to know the answer too. "Why is telling me to call him Ishmael? Is that his real name? Is it a biblical reference? How can it be the best and worst of times?"

Blog Fiction is no different than any other fiction in that it needs to draw the reader into the story. Much of the blog fiction that I've found starts off with a justification of why the character is starting to blog or a diary. The first post follows the formula, "I'm starting this because of [x]". Some other's go for authenticity by making the first post something along the line: "I hope this shows up when I hit publish!" As if the character is testing the blog software. Some may not have a real beginning and just start writing.

I don't know which way is best. Actually, I don't think there is a 'best' way. As long as it's interesting I think a writer can start a Blog Fiction however (s)he wants.

A regularly occurring series here will be me reviewing the first (and second and third, when appropriate) post of the blog fictions that I've found. I'll be basing it on 3 criteria: Does the tone it set in sync with the character or story? Does it draw in the reader? Is it Original or Clever?

I will review more than a couple per post as warranted. If I give a bad review I will do my best to contact the Author and see if they would like to either comment or rebut. If there is a rebut, I'll post it on the front and include a comment in the original review that contains a link to the rebuttal.

There'll be no particular order in which blog fiction I review first other than I'll give some sort of preference to blog fiction that is currently active.

Look for the first reviews in the next day or two.