Paths That Lead Home (LotR F.F.)

Chapter 1: That First Line

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings and its character, for they belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. Enjoy!

Cathy's POV

If there is one thing I hate in this world it is creating that first sentence of a story. You need to find the right hook to catch your reader's attention, but you either have so many hooks that you can't choose, or you have that crappy hook that may catch a fish or two. Or you have no hooks; not a single idea and not a single fish. That's what I have.

Why am I referencing writing a book to fishing? I've only ever fished once and that was when I was twelve!

I let out a groan and let my head fall back and bang against the headboard of my bed. "Ow," I growled. I looked back down at my computer screen in hoping that my first sentence would write itself. Then maybe it could write the first chapter where you basically have to showcase your main character and put enough good stuff it it to peak the reader's interest enough for them to fully read the book.

Why did I become a writer again?

My door swung open and in came my roommate, Abby. Her caramel hair pulled up into a ponytail and her blue eyes alight with frustration. She marched over and practically threw herself across my bed, burying her face into the blankets and groaned.

"What's up?" I ask. Abby turned her head to look up at me. I can now see that they were a little bit red as if she was ready to cry. I placed my computer to the side and scooted towards her placing a hand on her back. "What's wrong? What happened?"

She sniffed. "I just finished watching Merlin."

I was quiet for a moment before I laughed. "I told you that you were going to cry!"

She glared at me which made me laugh even harder. "Shut up," she muttered. She sat up and crossed her legs and nodded to my laptop where the blank document stared at me. "I thought you said you were going to write that first chapter of your book?"

I groaned and let my head fall back and, again, bang it against the headboard. Abby shot me a sympathetic smile while I swore under my breath. Maybe banging my head against the wall is impairing that creative writer in me.

"It's that first line," I groaned. I have already written snippets of my book, but I knew nothing wouldn't come together until I make that very, very, extremely first rough draft. I do my writing in stages: drafts one through three, get everything onto paper; drafts four through however many, add details; and the last few drafts end with me crying and throwing it into Abby and a few other friends faces so I could get feedback on what to add or what to remove. Again, why did I become a writer?

Abby nodded. She understands my trouble since she likes writing poetry in her spare time and has hopes that she can publish a small book of her works. She glanced down at her phone. "What time are we heading to Lauren's?"

"Around nine." I closed my laptop and reached for my book bag that I use to carry my computer and notebooks in. I looked at the clock on my wall as I put my laptop in my bag. "So leave in about twenty minutes?"

Abby shrugged, "Ok. I need to pack up my things anyway." She jumped out and walked out of the room. I shook my head, and got up to begin packing my own bag. Abby and I were going to a close friend of mine's house to watch this movie series that she's been getting on us about since the release of those three Hobbit movies. I haven't watched them yet, although I did read the book in high school and found it quite enjoyable.

I love reading books, but if there was one series I never got my hands on it was the Lord of the Rings series. I've read Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, the Mortal Instruments, Vampire Academy, and many others; all except for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. For years, Lauren has been getting on me about reading or watching the trilogy that I finally caved for a movie marathon on mine and Abby's rarely free weekends. I'm going against my 'book before movie' vow, but I have been giving Lauren that excuse for years now and she's tired of hearing it.