"And scarcely had the last stroke of the hour ceased to resound, when a revolver shot rang out!"

This illustration is from "The Eleventh Hour" by Edwin Balmer and Wililam B. MacHarg, in Hampton's magazine, 1910.

Momus suggests that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out.'"
Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT by Margery Williams

There was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid.  He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen.  On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the Boy's stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming.  Suddenly, a shot rang out.

(Thanks, June!)

Momus suggests that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out.'"

What about the following variation, which we quote in our dictionary of magic words:

"‘Abracadabra,’ Charlene murmured to herself as she crossed against the traffic in the rain, ‘that’s an exotic word.’  Somewhere in the distance a bomb exploded softly.”
—Kate Atkinson, Not the End of the World (2003)

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

THE AGE OF INNOCENCE by Edith Wharton

On a January evening of the early seventies, Christine Nilsson was singing in Faust at the Academy of Music in New York.  Suddenly, a shot rang out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

THE WINGS OF THE DOVE by Henry James

She waited, Kate Croy, for her father to come in, but he kept her unconscionably, and there were moments at which she showed herself, in the glass over the mantel, a face positively pale with the irritation that had brought her to the point of going away without sight of him.  Suddenly, a shot rang out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

A BLAZE OF GLORY by John Strange Winter

In a little room, somewhat shabby and rather meanly furnished, a young girl stood looking round on its well-worn and tediously familiar features with great solemn eyes filled with utter distaste and dissatisfaction.  Suddenly, a shot rang out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

A LOST LIFE by Emily H. Moore

I am the Doctor's wife in the quiet town of Baywood.  Suddenly, a shot rings out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

"Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
And then a shot rang out

(Thanks, June!)

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

THE SHADOW LINE by Joseph Conrad

Only the young have such moments.  I don't mean the very young.  No.  They very young have, properly speaking, no moments.  It is the privilege of early youth to live in advance of its days in all the beautiful continuity of hope which knows no pauses and no introspection.
     One closes behind one the little gate of mere boyishness—and enters an enchanted garden.  Its very shades glow with promise.  Suddenly, a shot rings out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

FORBIDDEN TO MARRY by Isabella Banks

It has been intimated that Muriel's homecoming had not been the unmixed joy she had anticipated.  Suddenly, a shot had rung out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

BACK WHEN WE WERE GROWNUPS by Anne Tyler

Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person. Suddenly, a shot rang out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

THE END OF THE AFFAIR by Graham Greene

A story has no beginning or end; arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead. Suddenly, a shot rang out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

CHROMOS by Felipe Alfau

The moment one learns English, complications set in. Suddenly, a shot rings out.

---

Jeff writes:

This could be the two-sentence life story of so many tortured writers.  Of course, simply reversing the order of the sentences avoids those pesky English complications altogether, but then who would be left to torture?  It's a bit of a paradox.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

NEUROMANCER by William Gibson

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. Suddenly, a shot rang out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

CITY OF GLASS by Paul Auster

It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not.  Suddenly, a shot rang out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE
by Gabriel García Márquez

Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. Suddenly, a shot rang out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

LEAVE IT TO JEEVES by P. G. Wodehouse

Jeeves—my man, you know—is really a most extraordinary chap. So capable. Honestly, I shouldn't know what to do without him. Suddenly, a shot rings out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

CANDIDE by Voltaire

In a castle of Westphalia, belonging to the Baron of Thunder-ten-Tronckh, lived a youth, whom nature had endowed with the most gentle manners. Suddenly, a shot rang out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

TALBOT AND VERNON by John Ludlum McConnel

A very large number of those who engage in mercantile pursuits fail before their employment is ten years old.  Suddenly, a shot rings out.

Is it true, as Momus suggests, that there are "few tales which would not be improved by the addition of the phrase 'suddenly, a shot rang out'"?  Decide for yourself as we alter the opening lines of . . .

A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN
by James Joyce

Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo ... Suddenly, a shot rang out.