Things I didn't know I didn't know
I never gave it much thought, but I kinda figured that either
Snoopy made it up or some writing teacher long ago invented it
as an example of what not to do.
What am I talking about? The start of the generic bad novel, of course:
"It was a dark and stormy night."
So imagine my surprise when I open 'A Wrinkle In Time',
and there, in broad daylight, in naked prose, is the first sentence:
"It was a dark and stormy night."
Copyright 1962.
Is this the origin, or did she copy it from some yet more ancient tome?
Update:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_was_a_dark_and_stormy_night
So she did copy it!
"The phrase "It was a dark and stormy night", made famous by comic strip artist Charles M. Schulz, was originally penned by Victorian novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton..."
Snoopy made it up or some writing teacher long ago invented it
as an example of what not to do.
What am I talking about? The start of the generic bad novel, of course:
"It was a dark and stormy night."
So imagine my surprise when I open 'A Wrinkle In Time',
and there, in broad daylight, in naked prose, is the first sentence:
"It was a dark and stormy night."
Copyright 1962.
Is this the origin, or did she copy it from some yet more ancient tome?
Update:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_was_a_dark_and_stormy_night
So she did copy it!
"The phrase "It was a dark and stormy night", made famous by comic strip artist Charles M. Schulz, was originally penned by Victorian novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton..."