Episode 34

Chase Replogle

There's No Sentence Like The First Sentence

Writers pay attention to the first sentence. Writing great first sentences is an art worth practicing.
Writers pay attention to the first sentence. Writing great first sentences is an art worth practicing.
00:00 23:02

Show Notes:34. Chase Replogle — There’s No Sentence Like The First Sentence

I’m obsessed with the opening sentences of books. Working on this episode, I stood in front of my bookshelves for over 30 minutes opening book after book to reread the opening lines.

By no means does my interest in the topic mean I have mastered its execution, but for the sake of helping you learn to appreciate the masters, I want to work through some common approaches. It’s not exhaustive but here are six possible ways to approach first sentences.

  1. 1. Surprise!
  2. 2. The Dramatic
  3. 3. A Bit of Philosophy
  4. 4. With Voice
  5. 5. A Story
  6. 6. Detail, Detail, Detail

There are plenty of other ways to begin. What matters most is not that you choose from my list. What matters is that you take the time to make the most of your start.

Be intentional. How can you help a reader connect from the first words? Try different openings. Rearrange paragraphs, moving unexpected things to the front. Add detail. Drop a quote. Surprise your reader.

But more than anything else, I hope I’ve peeked your interest in gathering your own list of best opening sentences. I hope you’ll pay more attention to the opening sentences of the books you love.

Host: Chase Replogle

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  • A Sharp Compassion releases in less than one week. “In our desperate search for comfort, the temptation to minimize, neutralize, or distort the cross looms large for Christians navigating the fragility of our own shortcomings. But the cross is offensive. As Chase Replogle reminds us, ‘the cross is the singular offense we must not lose, for it frees us from all other offenses.’ A Sharp Compassion is a timely diagnosis of our contemporary condition, offering a challenging but accessible, difficult but beautiful path forward, away from suffocating fragility, toward a spacious and free life.” Jay Y. Kim, Pastor and Author
  • “Through a careful look at some of Jesus’s most challenging conversations, Chase helps us better understand the trap of offense and how Jesus can rescue us from it. Like a skilled surgeon, Chase uses Jesus’s words to dissect our lives, helping us recognize the insecurity and idolatry that often leads us to envy and offense. Jesus loves us enough to be honest with us. For those willing to listen, his hardest words also turn out to be some of his best. With Chase’s usual mix of history, psychology, and literature, A Sharp Compassion is a fascinating and sober read. For those willing to take the journey, you’ll learn and certainly be changed.” Mark Batterson Lead pastor of National Community Church; New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker
  • A Sharp Compassion is now available for pre-order on audible!
  • I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
  • Just wanted to say thanks to those who have been pre-ordering the new book. Fun to see it ranked number three under Christian social issues.
  • Link in bio. A Sharp Compassion is officially online for pre-order. I've got a new episode on the Pastor Writer podcast introducing the book.
  • Link in Bio I think our current debates about the Paris Olympics reflect how little we understand offense and our need for a Christian theology of offense. Of course it was offensive; the real question is what Christians should do with offense.
  • St Louis day trip, art museum and rainy day at the zoo.
  • Excerpt from Chapter 1: “A Sharp Compassion” is a line from T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets in which he describes Christ’s work as the wound that heals. Sometimes, it’s Jesus’s hardest words that work the greatest healing. But if we find ourselves offended by hard words, we risk never discovering that greater healing.
  • Chaptaer 1: Hard Words to Hear Chapter 2: Offense Chapter 3: Insecurity Chapter 4: Obsession Chapter 5: Imitation Chapter 6: Affirmation Chapter 7: Accusation Chapter 8: Healing Chapter 9: Should We Too Offend?
A Sharp Compassion releases in less than one week. “In our desperate search for comfort, the temptation to minimize, neutralize, or distort the cross looms large for Christians navigating the fragility of our own shortcomings. But the cross is offensive. As Chase Replogle reminds us, ‘the cross is the singular offense we must not lose, for it frees us from all other offenses.’ A Sharp Compassion is a timely diagnosis of our contemporary condition, offering a challenging but accessible, difficult but beautiful path forward, away from suffocating fragility, toward a spacious and free life.” Jay Y. Kim, Pastor and Author
@thepastorwriter
@thepastorwriter
•
Follow
A Sharp Compassion releases in less than one week. “In our desperate search for comfort, the temptation to minimize, neutralize, or distort the cross looms large for Christians navigating the fragility of our own shortcomings. But the cross is offensive. As Chase Replogle reminds us, ‘the cross is the singular offense we must not lose, for it frees us from all other offenses.’ A Sharp Compassion is a timely diagnosis of our contemporary condition, offering a challenging but accessible, difficult but beautiful path forward, away from suffocating fragility, toward a spacious and free life.” Jay Y. Kim, Pastor and Author
5 days ago
View on Instagram |
1/10
“Through a careful look at some of Jesus’s most challenging conversations, Chase helps us better understand the trap of offense and how Jesus can rescue us from it. Like a skilled surgeon, Chase uses Jesus’s words to dissect our lives, helping us recognize the insecurity and idolatry that often leads us to envy and offense. Jesus loves us enough to be honest with us. For those willing to listen, his hardest words also turn out to be some of his best. With Chase’s usual mix of history, psychology, and literature, A Sharp Compassion is a fascinating and sober read. For those willing to take the journey, you’ll learn and certainly be changed.” Mark Batterson Lead pastor of National Community Church; New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker
@thepastorwriter
@thepastorwriter
•
Follow
“Through a careful look at some of Jesus’s most challenging conversations, Chase helps us better understand the trap of offense and how Jesus can rescue us from it. Like a skilled surgeon, Chase uses Jesus’s words to dissect our lives, helping us recognize the insecurity and idolatry that often leads us to envy and offense. Jesus loves us enough to be honest with us. For those willing to listen, his hardest words also turn out to be some of his best. With Chase’s usual mix of history, psychology, and literature, A Sharp Compassion is a fascinating and sober read. For those willing to take the journey, you’ll learn and certainly be changed.” Mark Batterson Lead pastor of National Community Church; New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker
2 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
2/10
A Sharp Compassion is now available for pre-order on audible!
@thepastorwriter
@thepastorwriter
•
Follow
A Sharp Compassion is now available for pre-order on audible!
2 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
3/10
I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
@thepastorwriter
@thepastorwriter
•
Follow
I spent the past week with a great writers group in Kentucky. Great good, hospitality, and conversations on writing. And I signed my first copy of A Sharp Compassion.
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
4/10
Just wanted to say thanks to those who have been pre-ordering the new book. Fun to see it ranked number three under Christian social issues.
@thepastorwriter
@thepastorwriter
•
Follow
Just wanted to say thanks to those who have been pre-ordering the new book. Fun to see it ranked number three under Christian social issues.
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
5/10
Link in bio. A Sharp Compassion is officially online for pre-order. I've got a new episode on the Pastor Writer podcast introducing the book.
@thepastorwriter
@thepastorwriter
•
Follow
Link in bio. A Sharp Compassion is officially online for pre-order. I've got a new episode on the Pastor Writer podcast introducing the book.
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
6/10
Link in Bio I think our current debates about the Paris Olympics reflect how little we understand offense and our need for a Christian theology of offense. Of course it was offensive; the real question is what Christians should do with offense.
@thepastorwriter
@thepastorwriter
•
Follow
Link in Bio I think our current debates about the Paris Olympics reflect how little we understand offense and our need for a Christian theology of offense. Of course it was offensive; the real question is what Christians should do with offense.
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
7/10
St Louis day trip, art museum and rainy day at the zoo.
St Louis day trip, art museum and rainy day at the zoo.
St Louis day trip, art museum and rainy day at the zoo.
St Louis day trip, art museum and rainy day at the zoo.
@thepastorwriter
@thepastorwriter
•
Follow
St Louis day trip, art museum and rainy day at the zoo.
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
8/10
Excerpt from Chapter 1: “A Sharp Compassion” is a line from T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets in which he describes Christ’s work as the wound that heals. Sometimes, it’s Jesus’s hardest words that work the greatest healing. But if we find ourselves offended by hard words, we risk never discovering that greater healing.
Excerpt from Chapter 1: “A Sharp Compassion” is a line from T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets in which he describes Christ’s work as the wound that heals. Sometimes, it’s Jesus’s hardest words that work the greatest healing. But if we find ourselves offended by hard words, we risk never discovering that greater healing.
Excerpt from Chapter 1: “A Sharp Compassion” is a line from T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets in which he describes Christ’s work as the wound that heals. Sometimes, it’s Jesus’s hardest words that work the greatest healing. But if we find ourselves offended by hard words, we risk never discovering that greater healing.
@thepastorwriter
@thepastorwriter
•
Follow
Excerpt from Chapter 1: “A Sharp Compassion” is a line from T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets in which he describes Christ’s work as the wound that heals. Sometimes, it’s Jesus’s hardest words that work the greatest healing. But if we find ourselves offended by hard words, we risk never discovering that greater healing.
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
9/10
Chaptaer 1: Hard Words to Hear Chapter 2: Offense Chapter 3: Insecurity Chapter 4: Obsession Chapter 5: Imitation Chapter 6: Affirmation Chapter 7: Accusation Chapter 8: Healing Chapter 9: Should We Too Offend?
Chaptaer 1: Hard Words to Hear Chapter 2: Offense Chapter 3: Insecurity Chapter 4: Obsession Chapter 5: Imitation Chapter 6: Affirmation Chapter 7: Accusation Chapter 8: Healing Chapter 9: Should We Too Offend?
Chaptaer 1: Hard Words to Hear Chapter 2: Offense Chapter 3: Insecurity Chapter 4: Obsession Chapter 5: Imitation Chapter 6: Affirmation Chapter 7: Accusation Chapter 8: Healing Chapter 9: Should We Too Offend?
Chaptaer 1: Hard Words to Hear Chapter 2: Offense Chapter 3: Insecurity Chapter 4: Obsession Chapter 5: Imitation Chapter 6: Affirmation Chapter 7: Accusation Chapter 8: Healing Chapter 9: Should We Too Offend?
@thepastorwriter
@thepastorwriter
•
Follow
Chaptaer 1: Hard Words to Hear Chapter 2: Offense Chapter 3: Insecurity Chapter 4: Obsession Chapter 5: Imitation Chapter 6: Affirmation Chapter 7: Accusation Chapter 8: Healing Chapter 9: Should We Too Offend?
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
10/10

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