By: Emily
Wenstrom
The first
chapter of a novel is arguably the most important—if a reader isn’t hooked, she
won’t keep reading. And if that happens, nothing else you write matters.
Think of your
first chapter as the tip of the iceberg—sure, there’s a ton more to your story
that readers may not be seeing yet…but that’s what the rest of the manuscript
is for. In the first chapter, you just need enough to hook the reader and get
them curious about what’s going on under the water.
How to Write Your First Chapter
But what does it
take to create
that hook? I thought a lot about this as I wrote and edited my first novel.
And my conclusion is that, while there are many different ways to creatively
introduce a story in the first chapter, there are three key things a first
chapter must do to pull a reader in.
1. Establish the main character
The protagonist
is the reader’s conduit into the story. So you’ve got to make it easy for
readers to make this connection—quickly.
This is simple
to say, sure, but can be harder to execute. How can you be sure your
protagonist hits the mark? Start your story from a place where your lead
character is vulnerable or shows their strengths.
For example. . .
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