First Chapter Woes

Hard to say without reading it. I say post it on SYW and see what the feedback is . Stakes and pacing I think are more important than the number of characters. Too many characters at the beginning is hard to keep track of. Having a chapter with only the MC may be nice to give readers time to adjust to a new world/setting before having to get to know more characters.
In other words, may or may not work. Best way is to show and see

I'm having this same problem right now, and I've only just figured out what to do now.

I had about 4,000 words in my first chapter and there wasn't dialogue or anything until the last 1,000 words but from the beginning to the end, it was all action and it's written in third person. I only just figured out that she's a girl and that most girls live in the house with annoying siblings or cousins. So, I then decided to add in another character.

But I wouldn't suggest this to you, unless adding a character makes sense and doesn't mess up the plot.

Also, it shouldn't be a problem if you have a nice hook and an interesting MC. If you're going to go for not having a lot of dialogue in your first chapter, at least have a good opening scene that sets the stage, so to speak.

Hope I was of some help!

Elysium said:

I'm having this same problem right now...

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Me too.

Number of characters isn't the issue, but lack of dialog could present a pacing issue. Lots of description gets boring after a while no matter what it's describing. Finding the right balance between description, action, and internalization will be critical to making the scene work. Giving readers a character they care about right from the start will be key. If they like and care, they'll stick with you, because it won't be just "here's some action" but "here's Jane stuck in a problem and I want to see her get out of it."

The opening scene of my novel (which is around 2000 words) doesn't have a lot of dialog, but there is some to help carry the scene add keep the pace up. But it does have a lot of internalization, so it has that dialog feel and keeps readers engaged with the character and her plight. The internalization makes it personal, not just action happening.

One thing I do when I have a lot of action in a scene, it to slip in bits of dialog here and there to help break it up. If my protag is being chased, she hears the guards yelling or shouting orders to each other. If she races past people, they yell at her for banging into them. Small two and three line bits, but it lets the protag interact with the world and gives a sense of immediacy to the scene. It also gives my protag things to react to and internalize.

it really depends. I don't think anyone can tell you neh or yay unless you have people read it.

Obviously I haven't read the chapter in question, but I've been turned off books in the past because they started out with a single character doing something description-heavy and boring. If it's description-heavy and captivating, that's just fine.

I had (ok, have)the same fear about my first chapter, because the MC is by herself. But there's a lot happening, it's not like she's just hanging around counting her toenails or something, and it's definitely the place where the story needs to start. So far, none of my betas have found it boring, but a couple suggested adding some mutterings to herself or something if I wanted. Would that work for yours?

From what you described, it sounds to me like it would be fast paced enough from the actions that are going on, and I wouldn't feel like it was dragging. First vs. third makes no difference to me either when reading dialogless stuff. If it's interesting, and the character is good, it shouldn't matter

Hey Renee! I think the most important thing to think about with a first chapter is: what's the tone of the rest of the book? This is where you're going to set that tone. So, if you have a book with a lot of internal stuff, then the first chapter should get the reader ready for that. If it's an action packed romp, then start with action. If it's mysterious then start with the mystery. Don't know if that makes sense, but that's how I always think about it. For pacing you need to break up description with action and thoughts. You don't need more than one person to make a scene interesting. You just need to make sure you even out all the elements.

I agree that only having one character in your opening chapter shouldn't be an issue so long as what you have in that chapter draws your reader into the story and makes them WANT to read more, sets the tone of your book, and serves to propel your story forward.

And I totally second the suggestion(s) to post your chapter in the SYW section! You'll be amazed at how very HELPFUL the suggestions you get from there can be. . . .





P.S. I was born in Colorado!

If she's doing something, you should be fine. If it's all telling and exposition, that's not fine. But it sounds like it has tension, with the time constraint and all, and that's good.

I know what you mean about first chapters. I've written at least eight versions of my first chapter myself. As I began to send out queries, I stopped after two rejections and did a minor tweak again. Good luck with it.

kaitlin008 said:

So far, none of my betas have found it boring, but a couple suggested adding some mutterings to herself or something if I wanted.

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I second this suggestion. Dialogue has a magical effect - long stretches of text feel daunting, but a line of dialogue here and there will break it up wonderfully. It can be an NPC talking, the MC talking to herself, whatever as long as I get that sweet delicious dialogue.