First chapter with some foreshadowing...

Why can't you do both? It should be a package deal, especially at the beginning. It also depends a little on the kind of book you're writing.

As long as you've got a hook (somewhere in the first chapter) to reel the reader in, then the rest is up to you. For my WIP, I didn't want to give too much information up in the first chapter. So I used chapter one as an introduction to the main character and her life, and then let the reader know things would be changing for her very soon. Do whatever works for you and the progression of your book. Good luck!

I usually start off with the character in the middle of something interesting, something that's part of their daily life or job and shows a bit of who they are, then by the end of chapter one, the events that form the basis of the plot have been introduced. As an example, in one of my fantasy WIPs, my MC is an investigator looking for dark magic, so he's first encountered at a routine 'call', dealing with an evil type thing, and as soon as he's done with that, he's ordered to look into what seems another mundane job but leads him into the rest of the plot.

Someone on these boards told me what that was called once, as in there's a term for that sort of opening, but I can't recall what it was or what thread it was said in

For my other fantasy one though I've started pretty much in media res but I think it foreshadows as well. That story is kind of a conspiracy theory type thing, although it follows one particular character and at the start he's not aware of the conspiracy, but I've put in a few clues here and there so that later he can look back and go 'ahhhh, that's what it was'.

My novel starts with a chance encounter which turns into an arguement, i didn't want them to meet and instantly be the best of friends.
The chapter ends with a hint that they could have a relationship which is worth developing, and im hoping the reader will be willing them together- but seems as though i have no readers yet i'm not completely sure i've been successfull with it lol.

From a readers perspective, i like it when novels grab my attention from the beginning, i hate books that take 13 chapters to actually begin.

I start right where the story does, but I make sure I set the tone and raise lots of questions, too. Starting with the "action" doesn't mean the action has to be an explosion (I'm having first page contest deja vu).

My novel starts with my narrator telling of an incident that happened when she was four years old. It turns out, as the story moves, to be an important memory, but it's not the central conflict. Link at the bottom of my signature if you're interested *shameless.* My advice? Do whatever is interesting and necessary. Don't go on for a page of necessary information just because you want to set a mood.

I have that same problem sometimes. You want to drop hints but if you reveal too much it won't be as interesting when you get to the later scene. I don't really have any great hints on this, just wanted to commiserate.

Problems with first drafts are expected of any writer. Show me someone who gets it perfect the first time, and I will hit that person.

juneafternoon said:

I'd crit that, but I don't write literary, and my crits within my own genre are bad enough

Thanks though! I'm working, moving, hustlin', bustlin', puffin'... All that good stuff over this beginning.

I have a real problem with writing first drafts, as it seems. >.<

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I've done both, and heard back from people who loved and hated both. In my current WIP, some readers have been interested in the action-packed segment that occurs before the story actually begins, and apparently aren't satisfied that I'm going to reveal bits and pieces of it in flashback. At the same time, when I pause to set the mood first, I've had some say that it gets the story off to a slow start and causes them to have trouble 'getting into it'. I've also heard both opinions expressed here, but from what I've seen, it seems that the overwhelming majority prefers to start in the middle of the action.

I write YA historical adventures. In the first book the very short first chapter sees the MC as a normal person leading a normal life with a nuissance of a twin brother and a mother who worries that MC is leaving her packing to the last minute. I hope by this ploy that the crunch is more devastating when it happens. In the first chapter, however, we learn a number of things, just coincidentally, that will be major factors in the story to come. I'm not skillful enough to work flashbacks effectively so I stear clear of them.