Is “it was a dark and stormy night” really such a bad opening line? Workmanlike, efficient, establishes scene and mood.
Doesn’t cut to core tension the way “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” or “happy families are all alike…” do, but it’s not bad.
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I’ve definitely written worse though 🤣
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I mean, it's been almost two hundred years and everyone knows the line. I'd call it a cult classic at this point.
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I can't find a good clip of it but there was a STTNG episode based on a book that started with "it was a dark and stormy night." Was a good episode, recommended. Also written before Fermat's Last Theorem was solved which makes the last scene interesting.






