Mixed drink is good. But metaphors are best neat. 
Consider a sequence of the following form: [Your line where speaker says he would not want to have himself for a father.] [Sentence where son is told he pulled the short straw (without trying to explain in what lottery).] [Apology sentence.]
So, you have your lottery and eat it too.
Excellent!
But now we see why writing, for me, is just a hobby.
That’s why we are all hobbyists (including those who accept money for doing it).
Kidding aside, quite a few of the forum users are professional writers, editors, etc.
If your work brings in earnings, it’s not a hobby. Just ask the IRS!
I do enough “writing” for work to recognize the skill required to be a professional writer. Many moons ago I believe I started a small civil conflict here at L&L by asking the difference between “writer” and “author”. My eventual take away was that writer:author::painter:Da Vinci. The implication is that one is more “art” in the sense of freedom of expression in a media. As we all know there are a lot of bad “Da Vinci wanna’ bees” out there. I would put my attempts at writing squarely in the “art” department. I enjoy it, feel that it is “good” in its own right, but have no delusions of grandeur as to its quality†. I would hate a job in which I had no ability to see the Da Vinci side of my work. Which would my my job a hobby. Maybe that was what GR was suggesting.
But … I could be wrong. Happens pretty frequently these days as the now-15-year-old daughditor reminds me. Several times each day she reminds me. sigh
†[size=75]Which I am not sure I could have said 2 years ago[/size]
In the spirit of constructive comment, I think that the above statement is what your opening lines are concealing, rather than revealing. The present opening is a lot of throat-clearing about souls and fathers, and it’s not something most readers will like or understand. (Witness our science and religion discourse, in another thread.)
Whatever souls do, they don’t “pick” the bodies they inhabit. If that were true, we’d be universally slim, coordinated, zit-free, and with 20-20 vision. You didn’t “pick” the form your daughter inhabits, and at 15, she is losing her childhood as you descend into mid-life. It’s a rough passage, for all concerned. If your opening expressed this situation, from both perspectives, you’d be winning all kinds of readers. And instead of telling this stuff, show it.
Example: As Katy reached the nth minute of a phone dialogue, her fourth this morning, I shot her a look that she returned with a nasty sneer. My little girl, approaching fifteen. In me she doubtless saw the ruins of her Daddy, now grown bald and disapproving.
sniff
Yeah. It needs a bit when you say it that way.
Good feedback.
Mark Twain wrote something along the lines of, “At the age of 14, I was dismayed and embarrassed at how ignorant and unaware my old man was. However, by the time I was 21, I was astonished by how much he had learnt, in just 7 years.”, so dont worry about it Jaysen, its happened to all of us dads
Vic
From a historical novel which I began (mistakenly?) to do more background research for and then never got round to finish. I’ve continued the research though, now as a PhD…
Everywhere was the din of war — the shrill ring of sword on sword, the echo of sword on shield, the noise of a whole forest of spears rattling and the shouts and screams of thousands of men in the throes of battle and death. Across the settlement women and children clutched each other in blind terror. Some covered their ears while others implored the gods to save them.
Ahha!
I would appear to have unearthed the answer to my query made on Sceriv`s lower deck (literal and metaphorical), Having a clock in full screen trick. Artificial Stupidity
:
Vic
Cold coffee. I was reading through the forum, and as I kept on doing just that I hadn’t noticed my pint-sized coffee mug had turned cold as a hailstorm (in a cup)
In other words, I wish to say a big HELLO! to all you writers, literature (and coffee) drinkers out there! Though I got my hands on Scrivener some months ago, I have a project that has been sizzling about in the attic for some years now. Will post something when time comes 
Best regards,
T. Drage
Interesting thread, Molly! I recognized quite a few of the published first lines, especially the Left Hand of Darkness and The Little Prince. But I think that surly horse sounds intriguing, as does the humorous old man and the packed square awaiting the deceiver. Here is mine, from my WIP: (You can find the rest of this intro, plus the first chapter, on my blog)
If you’re curious, the link for the rest of it is here:
mary-j-59.livejournal.com/15814.html#cutid1
Which reminds me, it is high time to hand out a reverse ex libris award to matt who jokingly, but nonetheless correctly identified an opening line of mine.*
However, I should point out that was not the only opening line of mine slipped in there. Heh-heh.
~greg
** Only available in facsimile.
Culled from Wickipedia:
This kid`s a sicko!..right? 
Dear sick-k,
Let this be your on-with: When Nancy spots a cougar while out horseback riding with two friends, she shoots it dead without further adieu–a single shot right between the eyes. So, you don’t really want to mess with this girl.
Ah, but her real original source of cool comes from much simpler things than the later developments listed in Wickipedia [sic]. It is rooted in her startling independence. This is simply and effectively represented by her having her very own car (blue roadster)–which she likes to drive fast–by her being almost entirely unsupervised (no mom, and dad is forever going out of town), and by her standing up to grown-ups with a kind of unbridled ferocity.
A favorite moment: Nancy seeks permission from her father to go stay at an old mansion where someone is breaking in and sneaking around at night. Her father, as always, is conveniently leaving town on business. His line (roughly): “I don’t know, Nancy, it might be dangerous…Here, you better take my revolver.”
Aw gee, dad, you’re the best!
-Greg
Yeeeaahh!!! Thats what I said!! Sicko :open_mouth: Theres no…yknow...thingy...no... what dycallit! Ananother thing…theres no wottttsit...is th. I mean… what the fecks the boyfriend doin, while shes doin all the sick stuff? Hes probably balls deep into S&M, and sniffin around her best buddy, which is normal…init?
Sick t`me 
I know discussing Nancy Drew with you is a losing proposition, stic-k, but I feel I should straighten you out: the real ND does not have a boyfriend. The boyfriend later in the series is a lame manifestion of a meddling editor who wanted ND to be more “girly” and “domestic”–and not so kick-butt independent.
Don’t believe everything you read in the Wickedpedia.
–Greg
There is no evidence that that broad was anything but a sicko! Not once has she ever said : youtube.com/watch?v=0hpiAcW99yc
I rest my case M` Lud 
I think that Mr K is demonstrating the technique commonly referred to as “pot calling kettle black”. In some cultures this technique is referred as “takes one to know one” or, in rare occasions, the “man in the mirror” syndrome.
In any event, Mr K. has previously established that he is intimately familiar with what it takes to be labeled “sicko”. All the personal experience…
