Whether it comes in the first 13 or not, eventually your characters will have to open their mouths for the first time and speak the first words you ever hear from them.
I find it very intimidating to write a character's first words. There's so much pressure to make them memorable or impactful, or to think up a line that will perfectly display their character and their relationship with who they are talking to.
My current problem is that my two MCs are best friends and have been for a long, long time, so anything they say to each other will be cryptic to us. They understand each other without speaking clearly or full sentences, etc. But we won't.
But aside from my immediate problem, the larger questions still stand. Why are a character's first words so hard to invent? What do they have to accomplish?
Do other people face this? How do you handle it?
Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :
Just have them say something and then come back and fix it after the book is written.
Posted by pixydust (Member # 2311) on :
Maybe you're just putting too much weight on this. Just let them speak. They should say what needs to be said for that scene and so the story moves forward. Remember, like franc li said, there's always the delete button. Get the story's bones on the page then worry about how the skin fits.
Posted by pantros (Member # 3237) on :
Just think about the character. If you know the character, the words come easy. Don't worry about trying to impart the character through the speech. If you know the character, it will show.
Posted by Silver3 (Member # 2174) on :
I concur. Just write, and worry about the impact of the words later.
Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :
Although "Just do it" is good, I'll add something about just doing it right.
Yes, your characters know each other, but since we don't, let them give sentences that convey info to us, too. In thought if need be; in dialog if need be. Either explain or better yet replace the in-jokes, etc.
That said, if you know your characters, they'll know what to say. Translate it into words we'll all get when you need. My 2 cents.
Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :
I concur with Pixydust and Silver. Just write it. Whatever comes to your mind in the moment. I generally don't give specific weight to the "first words" of a character as I'm reading, unless perhaps the dialogue fall in the opening lines of the story.
Then again, I've never had much trouble with dialogue. That element has always come naturally to me, so the rule may be different to you if writing dialogue requires more focused concentration on your part.
Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :
Your comments that the MCs know each other reminds me of an incident with my closest friend. We think very much alike. And for a while, we worked together. One day I went into my office (which was next door to hers) and found something she knew I would think was amusing. I went over to her office and poked my head in the door. She was talking to her assistant, Sandy. Sandy saw the looks we exchanged, but we didn't say a single word to each other. My friend burst out laughing because SHE knew what I was thinking. Sandy said in exasperation, "HOW do you two DO that????"
Best friends often communicate without words. A gesture, a pat on the back, a sly look... words are only one way people communicate.
Posted by KatFeete (Member # 2161) on :
Er, my one MC's first words were "What do you mean, a body?", and I only remember that because it's also the first line of the book. In my WIP I had to go look: the MC's first line is "He's never been out of the village." I'm obviously not angsting much about impressing everyone with his character....
A character's words are important. I spent a lot of time on the rewrite clearing out a lot of qualifiers and "I'm sorry"'s and wishy-washy language, because the MC was supposed to be driven and decisive, not like me. But the first words out of their mouths, while they shouldn't be utterly banal, are no more important than the rest. Worry about it on the rewrite.
Posted by Calligrapher (Member # 2985) on :
You may freeze up if you try to painstakingly write every word of the dialogue. Just write to get them talking to each other on a subject that moves the plot forward. On later drafts, speak the dialogue out loud to see if you can hear their personalities coming through. Then try to give the various characters different speech characteristics to match their personalities. But don't worry about that until later drafts.
[This message has been edited by Calligrapher (edited November 28, 2005).]
Posted by rcorporon (Member # 2879) on :
Don't worry about it. First words (to me) are not important.
What were Tom Joad's first words? Frodo's? Jayne Eyre's? Kurtz's?
All of these giant characters, and I cannot think of what they said first?
I don't think what is first said is important, its what they say over the course of your story.
Ronnie
Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
I'd agree with the last point.
It isn't characters' first words that matter. It's their last.
The thing I loved about "Heart Of Darkness" was the fact that Kurtz's last words are "The horror... the horror...", and then when the narrator gets home and meets Kurtz' fiancee, he says something like "his last thoughts were of you...".
Posted by Leigh (Member # 2901) on :
My characters firsts words depend on the sort of mood I am in. If I'm in action then I make my MC antagonise his opponent, or if its a soft moment like just a conversation I try and make it flow.
Posted by sojoyful (Member # 2997) on :
Thanks for all your responses folks. I guess I unconsciously find ways of waylaying myself so that I'm doing everything but writing. It's good to know that it's not as critical as I was building it up to be.
But the first words out of their mouths, while they shouldn't be utterly banal, are no more important than the rest. Worry about it on the rewrite. 
Get the story's bones on the page then worry about how the skin fits.