My first chapter is a short story??

It happens.

Some authors write prologues that could work as stand-alone stories. I can't think of any first chapters that really fit that. The only downside is if you've tied up all the loose ends, what's to keep a reader flipping to the next chapter?

I'm curious to know if your betas thought it was bad.

If by that they mean it feels like a complete story, no, it's not good, unless you're writing an episodic novel. At the very least, it probably means that tension dropped at the end of the first chapter because things felt wrapped up.

BethS said:

If by that they mean it feels like a complete story, no, it's not good, unless you're writing an episodic novel. At the very least, it probably means that tension dropped at the end of the first chapter because things felt wrapped up.

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Agree, and depending on what narrative structure you're following this dip in tension can be seen as rather typical before the rising action.

Isilya said:

My betas didn't call it out as bad just a reoccurring thing I seem to do.

A few big questions that aren't answered in the first chapter but there is a romantic relationship that carries throughout the first chapter. At the end of the chapter the MC leaves in the middle of the night knowing its over and not wanting to say goodbye.

I hope it reads as the end of her old life and the beginning of something new.

hmmmm... now I'm concerned

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Maybe post it in Share Your Work and see what others say.

Maybe you need to introduce the 'new' more strongly. If you've put the past behind you, then you need to start looking to start focusing on the future.

Agree with what everyone says - short story implies that it has its own narrative arc. Which isn't ideal for a first chapter since you want them to finish that first chapter with waaaay more questions than answers, and a desire to read on to fins out more.

Second the suggestion of SWY here. Also would focus on foreshadowing the new life and make sure you insert some bigger questions into that chapter.

There are billions of ways to write a book. Making it a series of shorter stories is one. It has pros and cons like any other way.

For instance, dropping of “tension” after each story is one disadvantage. But that’s a problem only for books which are thrillers or something similar. It’s not a problem if you’re writing a (for instance) cozy detective story, which typically doesn’t have a lot of breathless Is the MC going to die suspense.

The episodic novel, such as you might be writing, depends on the main character or characters being likable or at least interesting. Readers want to spend time with them. So they’ll stick with them story after story.

I’d suggest that each story become longer and richer from the first to the last.

For instance, the MC is a detective solving small crimes at first, becoming more adept at crime-busting. They tackle bigger and bigger crimes as their mind-and-body “muscles” become stronger. The last in the book might be a novella taking up a quarter or third of the book. AND it might loop back in theme and tone to the very first story, making the book more of a unity than a collection of stories.

Lots of novels start off in the way you describe. The end of an old mode, the beginning of new. What you are probably missing is the later, which serves as a segway. Solution? Rewrite the last few paragraphs in your chapter and make them transitional. Problem solved ;-)

Isilya said:

My betas have pointed out that my first chapter reads like a short story. This is not intentional.

Is this bad? Does anyone else do this?

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I wouldn't assume it's bad at all. What do they mean by reading like a short story? The important thing is to see if they want to continue reading after chapter one. If they read chapter one and love it and then continue to read chapters two and three and so on, that's good. If they read chapter one and then have no interest in chapter two, that's bad. So my advice? Clarify what they mean. If it causes no problem when reading and understanding the novel, then there's no reason to see it as a problem.

Personally I have the opposite situation, a short story (published as such) that I've been told reads like the beginning of a novel.

First chapters are just plain hard to write.

When we start, sometimes we don't know our characters very well.
Maybe we're unclear on our actual story.
Maybe we can't 'picture' what's going on.
Maybe we don't have the plot just laid out like a patient etherized upon a table.

And because it's hard to start telling story, we delay. We tapdance around.
This is when we face the temptation to toss in what we CAN visualize ... which is likely to be vignettes from the character's past.
This is where we convince ourselves the reader needs to become acquainted with the protagonist's backstory.

A section of backstory -- whether it's in the form of a little vignette or a short story or a dramatic scene or description of scenery -- is problematic as Chapter One. This 'start the story and then start the story again' is a difficult structure to work with.

My advice is to set the first chapter on the back burner and forge ahead to finish the whole manuscript.
(If you haven't already.)
Let the manuscript cool for a couple weeks,
then look at the whole shebang.

Does your story work without this first chapter?
Does the first chapter earn its keep in the story?

Isilya,

Could it be that you are hurrying your story?