Opening chapter

[cherilnc]

How long does it take you get nail your opening chapter? do you write it after the majority of the book?

Any tips on adding fire to hook the reader immediately?

A controversial first line? A fight? A joke? nah...nix that, everything isn't funny to everyone.

Help.

[Jamesaritchie]

Darned if I can tell you how to hook a read, just that it is necessary.

I can say there's no way on earth I could write the opening chapter last. Everything in the novel depends on that opening chapter. Everything springs from it.

As for time, it varies, but often it will take me almost as long to write the first ten pages of a novel as it does to write the rest of the novel. Those first few pages must be right, must set up the rest of the novel, or there's no way I can write a good novel.

[cherilnc]

Hi,

My problem with this book is that I started writing it online...and when I decided to turn it into a book I felt like it needed more background info on the characters to get rid of a lot of flashbacks.

I changed my idea on the opening I had because the comments in here made me look at it another way, bad idea opening with a dream. For the most part, this book is dialogue driven save for the first chapter, I just don't want to bore my reader before they get to the good part. I think the beginning of my book is somewhere in the middle and I have no idea how to properly reorganize it on my own.

[maestrowork]

I'm still trying to nail the first chapter, six months after I'm "done" with it. :lol

We all know it's important. But how exactly do we do it is not precise science (unless you're writing a formula book). But Uncle Jim's suggestion seems to help:

Put someone in an interesting setting and present him/her with a problem. Then make it move.

[Pthom]

I'm still trying to nail the first chapter, six months after I'm "done" with it.you too? I feel much better now.

[Tish Davidson]

Tony Hillerman, the mystery novelist, said in an interview I read that he has a whole file cabinet full of first chapters that he has never used. He said he writes a first chapter so that he can get on with the book, and then when he is done he goes back and writes a new first chapter (or 2 or 3 new first chapters) based on how he then knows the story turns out - so whatever works is what works. If you can't get past the first chapter, try his technique. Write something, then move on and revisit chapter 1 later.

[ChunkyC]

I agree with Tish. Get the story down. My original first chapter for my first novel finally ended up on page 325 or so, in a severely truncated form. Once the story is done, you should be able to decide if the existing opening is strong enough, or if you need to move some stuff around.

[alinasandor]

I know that you start with as much action as possible. Start with a startling statement or action.

Alina Sandor, Freelance Writer
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[maestrowork]

Hmmm... startling statement: check.
Action: check (not action packed stuff, but still some action and movement)

Not to mention: some kind of suspense.

And interesting characters.

And a hint of what the story is going to be about.

[Flawed Creation]

i re-wrote my first chapter several times. much like the aforementioned novelist. the first two chapters i wrote were the beginning and the end. then i started writing the middle. periodically, i go back/forward and changed the end and the beginning to match the middle.

currently, i'm trying something different. i'm not sure if i'll stick with it, but i used the end of the story for my first chapter.

after the war, the king gives a speech about the evils of the rebellion. one of the last surviving rebels (who is reconciled to the king ) stands up and shouts "that's not how it was at all", gives a short speech

cut to beginning of story...


i did this for a few reasons:

it foreshadows the eventual rebellion, explaining what the story is about;

it adds some tension to the beginning of the actual story;

it introduces immediately the most important facet of the book, the moral anbiguity. who is right, the rebels or the king?

[SRHowen]

Questions--you want the reader to ask questions: who? What? Why? How? Where? And you want there to be conflict or something out of the ordinary that makes the reader think--I got to know --see the questions.

Then you have a hook. It can be action, car crash, dead body, fight --but by action the idea is not to start out with a bunch of descriptions that don't raise questions.

Shawn

[maestrowork]

You also have to be careful about starting your book with a big bang. Depending on the genre, you may have a hard act to follow (unless you have more, bigger bangs later) and set up expectations that are too high. Again, it depends on the genre. Obviously if it's a thriller (as in Timeline, for example) you can start with something relatively exciting to set the stage. If it's mainstream, you can start with something relatively subdue but still "exciting" such as a death... just watch out because you will have to follow up with something bigger and better so don't use the biggest bang at the beginning.

[Jamesaritchie]

I know what I do in the opening chapter. I place the protagonist in a situation that leads to the rest of the novel. I also make sure the opening chapter either asks a question or introduces a problem. The rest of the novel will answer the question or solve the problem.

But how to do it is another matter. It's different each and every time.

And you don't have to start a novel with action, or with a startling statement, or in media res, or with dialogue. Each novel is different, each story is different, and you shuldn't apply rules haphazardly.

Chapter one must fit the novel you're writing and the story you're telling. What it must be is interesting. What it must do is give the reader a reason to keep reading. Each novel and each story demands a rule of its own, and a chapter one to match it, not the various rules of thumb you "should" use for a given genre.

[Vanessa99]

~~~I like to make the reader curious. I will make my characters talk about something that happened but never actually tell them what happened. I will tell them how it changed everything and how everyone is gossiping about it, but i still don't tell the reader exactly what it is. I just add an extra word about the situation as a hint every paragraph or so. It stimulates the reader's mind trying to piece all the hints together rather than reading one of those detached paragraphs about whatever may have happened in the past. Basically I bring my reader into the story rather than bring the story to my reader.

[Samueel]

Yeah, I find myself constantly going back to write my first chapters...*sigh*...perhaps I'll just forget about it until the revision.:gone

Samuel.

[maestrowork]

I just got a good fortune cookie:

Good beginning is half done.

[killerkellerh]

My first chapter starts with a murder. the first few paragraphs describe a mysterious unknown character driving a large van through a neighbor hood after midnight dressed in black and it is snowing.

my point with the open of the 1st chapter was to create suspense, then it progress 13 pages to a horrible murder. i hope i suceeded in my attempt at getting the reader to race through the first chapter as fast as possible, and the man (murderer) is never revealed, therefore setting up the mystery to follow.

:snoopy

I wrote the basic body of chapter 1 first, then as I have written 30 page segments, i have been going back and editing based on refining my technique and vioce and such. So since the original typing, i have added more to the begging of the 1st chapter and more to the end to beef it up and complete some ideas, but i am satisfied at this point with it and don't plan on changing the content again.


Keller

[SpeedRacist]

gotta open with a bang. I took some time over the opening of my mystery novel, but it already existed as a script, so I just went kinda with that.

I write the kind of openings that I would want to read. I realize that sounds :smack , but I think some writers forget that.

[novelator]

Ok, I have to ask and forgive me if the question's been answered a thousand times.

It's bad to open with a dream? Too cliche, too trick, overused, what?

Suppose the dream's a killing, that's bad?

Just wondering here.

Mari

[Flawed Creation]

probably. the question to ask yourself is why the dream is there.

what purpose does it serve?

will the reader feel cheated?

[macalicious731]

Unless you have something truly spectacular, I would advise against it. It's not necessarily that your sequence is bad, it's that there are so many out there that cheat the reader, most people are going to associate that with yours.

If dreams are a common reoccurence or have a very significant meaning in your story, keep it for now and you might find something better (or not) later. If it works, you'll know.

If it's there merely for "the hook," then you should probably figure out another opening. Action, suspense - all sorts of emotions are built up in a dream sequence, and even faster than they were made they're dropped when the character wakes up. There will be plenty of other actions, "hook" moments that occur later in the story and will be more relevant.

Good luck!

[maestrowork]

Cheating the readers right off the start is not a good idea. Remember, the author has a contract with the readers. If you break that trust right off the bat, it's hard for the readers to want to continue.

That said, if you make it CLEAR to the readers that the beginning is a dream sequence and that it is important (it's part of a plot, for example, because the protagonist is a psychic or something) and it's well written, the readers will give you a chance.

[cleoauthor]

I just finished the seventh rewrite of the novel I'm currently writing. And, of course, it was the first chapter I'm still tinkering with to get it exactly right. I can't imagine the number of hours I have spent on that chapter.

There's so much to accomplish in that first chapter: setting the tone, introducing characters, and most importantly hooking the reader.

A lot's riding on that first chapter. Makes me nervous and giddy and anxious just thinking about it.

[macalicious731]

A lot's riding on that first chapter. Makes me nervous and giddy and anxious just thinking about it.

Sounds like you're on to something!

[novelator]

Thanks for your replies to my question. They've really helped me make up my mind.

While there is a paranormal aspect to the story and dreams figure into it to a minor degree, I have a staunch beta-reader who's insisted all along that my original opening--without the dream--is best. I think I changed it a few months ago when I was deep in the throes of what I call my "I suck" syndrome, a chronic disease that periodically riddles me with self-doubt. At least I've learned to stay away from the delete key when I'm in that mindset. Now if I can just quit trying fix everthing that ain't broke, I might get ahead of the game. ;)

Thanks so much.

Mari

[Flawed Creation]

hold on to that dream sequence!

if it's part of the plot, then you might want to keep it, but not open with it. use it a little further into the book.

[JimMorcombe]

I think the concept of a Hook has been talked about so much that it is counter productive.

When you watch a movie you often have an action sequence with a bus blowing up before the story gets started. A book doesn't have to start like that, although many action thrillers certainly do.

A lot of people give advice saying you need to grab the reader in the first paragraph or even in the first sentence. But many of the really good and popular writers aren't trying to do this.

In the openning you need to keep the reader interested long enough to make him comitted to the book. Yes, this can be done with some really good action or some suspense. But have a look at some of your favourite books and see what they really do.

Once a writer has spun some really good characterisation, the reader is hooked. Once the reader feels for a character, he is likely to keep turning the pages.

Of course there are some elements that need to be there for different genres. But again, read your favourite authors and see what they do.

[cherilnc]

wow, lots of great tips in this thread.

Thanks.

[maestrowork]

Someone once told me, if your readers ask the right questions upon reading the first page or two, then you're on the right track.

If they ask the wrong questions, then it's not very good.

If they don't ask any questions at all, then you should definitely change it.

[Debra Lauman]

Good topic. (I just finished playing catch-up, as usual).

Anyhow, the first-chapter thing has been like an obsession of mine. I keep going back to it, going over it, never satisfied. I feel like I really hit my rhythm in Chapter Two ... which actually used to be Chapter One, until my editor (and others) told me Chapter One should be Chapter Two, and that I needed to add a Chapter One. Ugh, my life hasn't been the same since.

My editor also told me that she wants to care about the main character right from the get-go. (My original Chapter One opened with a secondary character, and she advised against that, suggesting I introduce the main character immediately.) So I wrote an opening paragraph that gives some insight into what's troubling that main character--that he, a child at the time, feels responsible for something terrible, to the point of being sick to his stomach. No big action at all. This, my editor really liked. So maybe that's another way to look at it: You can hook the reader by making him/her care about a character enough to stick with them. Regardless of the setting or circumstances, if the reader can relate to a character from the very beginning, then there's a good chance he or she will keep reading.

Deb

Author of "I. Joseph Kellerman"
www.debralauman.com (http://www.debralauman.com)

[James D Macdonald]

The first chapter ought to begin with a person, in a place, with a problem.

Remember that the first person the readers meet will automatically get their interest. This is free -- other, later characters you'll have to work for.

[maestrowork]

UJ, does that mean if it's a 1st person narrative, the narrator would get the reader's interest no matter what (even if he's a dull character)?

[SFEley]

Uncle Jim wrote:
Remember that the first person the readers meet will automatically get their interest. This is free -- other, later characters you'll have to work for.
I'm not sure I can fully agree with this. On the novel I'm currently shopping, the most common criticism I got from readers (including my first choice of agent, alas) was that the protagonist was less interesting than all of the supporting characters around her. People were far more interested in the setting and in my subplots than in what happened to my heroine. And yes, she was the first character introduced.

I addressed this in part by going back to my Chapter One and working harder to earn the reader's interest. Before there was virtually no dialogue in this chapter; it was all action, and she was alone for most of it. Now it starts with a shouting match in front of her entire village. The first couple of pages now show her core personality traits, and people who've read this new beginning say they like her much better.

So does your first character get the reader's interest for free? I'd say no -- or at least, they don't get to keep the reader's interest for free. Perhaps it's a loan, or an introductory discount. >8->


Have Fun,
- Steve Eley