Great Beginnings: The Goblet of Fire
Posted by David Duhr in 
I’m taking a (second) whack at the Harry Potter books, a series I enjoy immensely and one which I’m hoping I can finish this time, after making it through only four and a half of them in my last attempt, 2012 or so.
I’m up to No. 4, The Goblet of Fire, and the beginning is a solid grabber, a fine candidate for our ongoing “Great Beginnings” series.
So use your wand to draw up a chair, read the first paragraph, and then join the discussion.
The villagers of Little Hangleton still call it “the Riddle House,” even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had lived there. It stood on a hill overlooking the village, some of its windows boarded, tiles missing from its roof, and ivy spreading unchecked over its face. Once a fine-looking manor, and easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, the Riddle House was now damp, derelict, and unoccupied.
Does J.K. Rowling make you want to read on with this first paragraph? Why or why not? What are some of the key words in these lines? What questions does it call to mind, and what answers, if any, does it provide?
Let us know in the comments below. And make sure to tick “Notify” to follow the conversation.
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WriteByNight co-founder David Duhr is copy editor and fiction editor at the Texas Observer and contributes regularly to the Dallas Morning News, Publishing Perspectives, the Observer and other publications.
I like it, and would read on. Which I did, when I first read this series. Mostly I’m commenting because, what is that picture? I think there’s a good story behind it.