Writing your First Chapter (Part 1)
There are tons of things that go into making a killer first chapter. Here are just a couple of things to consider.
Introducing your Protagonist and Making us Care
When writing your first chapter, you’ll be introducing your protagonist. When introducing your hero, here are some things to keep in mind:
1) We have to care about them (to want to follow them on their journey). This is typically done by giving your protagonist weaknesses and flaws or even quirks we can relate to. Your protagonist could be a grumpy, cold-hearted thief… but if they give half their findings to homeless children, our heartstrings are suddenly pulled on.
2) Don’t info-dump their backstory or appearance right away. Only give the reader what they need to know to understand the scene at hand. You especially don’t want to have your hero standing in front of a mirror describing themselves to the readers when you only have so many pages to hook a reader. You’ll have plenty of time to go into the details on your character later. This leads me to my next point…
3) Leave your readers wanting more. This is how you create page-turning chapters. If your protagonist has a mysterious limp… don’t reveal why right away. If their flaw is that they hate magic and refuse to use their birth gift… leave the reader guessing why. Little mysteries like that will keep readers subconsciously turning the page to figure out why. Just make sure you eventually give them the answer.
Foreshadow your Theme(s)
As early as you can, you’ll want to show readers what to expect in your book. Authors can do this by foreshadowing. Think of it as a “mini-scene” or description that gives the reader a taste of what’s to come.
This can be a as small as a sentence or as long as a paragraph or scene.
“I hadn’t been this dumb in years, hadn’t strayed this far from the Wall since… well since it fell. But I couldn’t help myself. I saw a squirrel runnin’… and catching one of those little critters would land me a handful of coin.”
Right away, the reader knows to expect themes of poverty and survival.
Ground your Readers, but don’t over do it.
Your first chapter is critical in catching your reader’s attention– so you don’t want to use up all your words on describing the setting. This is unwise, because, during this time, you need to be making us care about your hero and their actions.
Instead, show the reader only what they need to know to understand the scene. Too much description will slow down the story.
However, if your story has an unusual or unique setting, this can be used as a hook. Although, as a general rule of thumb, you’ll want to write only what is necessary and dive into those beautiful descriptions later.
PART 2– COMING SOON :) Instagram: coffeebeanwriting
