The first chapter of your story will either hook readers or cause them to close the book before they’ve gotten any farther into your plot.

Your first chapter is one of the most important chapters in the novel. It sets up the entire premise of your story.

Not only is your main character introduced and the conflict foreshadowed, but the point of view from which all events in your story are perceived will be recognized at the outset.

You can have the same storyline and yet the outcome will be so different depending on whether it is perceived through the lens of a character who is too trusting versus one who doesn’t trust at all. 

But that theme, that universal truth that you want to expand upon, won’t be heard by your readers if they can’t get through your first chapter. 

In today’s post, I’m sharing 6 tips to help you craft an attention-grabbing first chapter so that readers won’t toss out your story.

Readers don’t want the volume-long history lesson or extensive world-building immediately upon entering your story.

They are here for your characters.

Dredging through paragraph upon paragraph of exposition only leads to a slow, boring start.

Plan to sprinkle world-building and need-to-know information throughout the story as your characters encounter it.

Only share what’s important for them to grasp your first chapter; otherwise, you risk overwhelming your readers rather than leaving them curious.

I’ve heard more than one writer say that a story starting with the main character waking up and going about their typical daily routine is bound to kill your story before it gains momentum.

The problem here is often that writers drag out these mundane routines.

We see the character rolling out of bed, stretching, putting on the kettle, and brushing their teeth; all the while, your reader is wondering when this story will really get started.

Seek out the sweet spot between your character’s normal life being derailed by what’s to come and the boring reality taking over your book.

Sentences packed with contradictions, mystery and blatantly painful truths are eye-catching.

Here’s a popular example: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

This first sentence from Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina gets to the bottom of a gritty truth that we know yet aren’t likely to express aloud.

Or… “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

George Orwell’s novel, 1984, sparks curiosity through a simple sentence that lies outside our normal realm.

Something strange must be about, for clocks don’t generally strike thirteen…

Spend time refining that first sentence during the revision process.

Use your story’s outcome to craft a beginning rich with the taste of what’s to come.

If nothing else, your readers want to know:

1. Who the story is about: introduce and fill out your main character’s key traits.
2. What they want: tell us their desire, the goal that they’re dreaming of accomplishing or the fear they’re trying to avoid.
3. Why they can’t get what they want: show your readers what’s holding them back. This tension is where your conflict lies.

Your readers are here for your characters and want to feel invested in their journey asap!

So make sure to set up their internal dilemma in the first chapter, allowing readers to recognize what obstacles they are being forced to overcome.

Readers need a reason to turn the page to chapter 2.

Leave them with an unanswered question, a disruption to the character’s plans or a jaw-dropping reveal.

Something that doesn’t end the story in its tracks but only leaves readers curious to know what will happen next.

Readers don’t want to wait until five chapters later to discover what the conflict is.

They want to know the problem your MC will grapple with immediately.

Often, in a rough draft, we tend to fumble our way through the first few paragraphs as we gain our footing.

We start the story too early, which leads to the boring exposition dragging our character through the minutiae of their day, or the story hasn’t quite figured out what beat is firing off our character’s trials.

Don’t worry about this during your first write.

Let yourself warm up to the story and fumble your way forward as you find the core of your narrative.

Once you’ve made it to the end, you’ll have a stronger knowledge of your plot’s purpose, and with that, you can delete and revise that first chapter.

 It will look different at the end, and that is great!

Your first chapter is key to setting up a story that captures your readers’ attention and keeps them actively engaged in your main character’s journey.

Your first chapter foreshadows your story’s conclusion.

It will evolve throughout the writing process.

Be willing to use all that you’ve learned by the end of your first draft to experiment and rewrite that beginning.

Write multiple versions of it, considering new ways that your main character might be introduced to the audience until you hit upon one scenario that feels absolutely intriguing.

Give it a try! Rewrite your first sentence now so that it packs a punch.

How do you decide where your story begins? Share your thoughts in the comments 

Talk soon!

Julia