Jhumpa Lahiri, on writing:

The first sentence of a book is a handshake, perhaps an embrace.
Style and personality are irrelevant.
They can be formal or casual.
They can be tall or short or fat or thin.
They can obey the rules or break them.
But they need to contain a charge.
A live current, which shocks and illuminates.
 
- Jhumpa Lahiri.