Apr 30
Even Bad Writing Has its Rewards
“It was a dark and stormy night…”
It is one of the most joked-about sentences in writing circles, but it actually was a real opening line to a real novel:
“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents–except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”–Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)
Those words have taken on a life of their own, especially at the English Department at San Jose State University, where wretched writing is celebrated with the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. The object is simple: create the worst opening line you possibly can.
Dave Zobel wins the top prize this year, and worked in a mention of Martha Stewart to boot! His entry, along with the runners up, is here.
