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The First Line literary journal provides quarterly first lines for stories. As their guidelines state, "All stories must start with the appropriate first line, and you cannot change it in any way unless otherwise indicated." Here's their upcoming issue, first line, and deadline:

Summer
Paul and Miriam Kaufman met the old-fashioned way.
Due date: May 1, 2010

They also have ones for Fall (due August 1) and Winter (due November 1). All "first lines" can be found here, along with submission guidelines.

Can you, uh, "borrow" their first lines and send them elsewhere? Here's what First Line respectfully asks of writers:
 

We love the fact that writers around the world are inspired by our first lines, and we know that not every story will be sent to us. However, we ask that you do not submit stories starting with our first lines to other journals (or post them online on public sites) until we've notified you as to our decision (usually two to three weeks after the deadline). When the entire premise of the publication revolves around one sentence, we don't want it to look as if we stole that sentence from another writer. If you have questions, feel free to drop us a line.

So, get started this Friday on one or more of these and send them to The First Line. As they remind us, "It all starts the same, but...." Subscriptions and single issues, including a Best of Anthology available here.

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