Recently Abby K sent me an email and said: “I am 15 and my dream is to be a published author. I am currently working on a medieval fantasy and having a hard time starting it. Do you have advice on how to start the first chapter? Do you have any advice on how to finish a manuscript and keep yourself motivated? I always jump from one project to the next.”
Beginnings and endings. The take-offs and the landings are often the bumpiest part of the ride. How can a writer start and end well?
You’ve probably heard it said that readers are hooked into a book with a powerful beginning. And they’re hooked into the next book through a powerful ending. In other words, the first chapter sells the book. The last chapter sells the next book.
So how can we craft beginnings that keep a reader engaged in a story? Here are 5 tips for starting with a bang:
1. Open with a strong hook.
The first line. The first paragraph. Even more than that, the first scene. Each one is extremely critical and should be crafted to bait the reader into needing to find out more. I might be able to forgive a mediocre first line, but the first scene must draw me in to the story.
2. Find the inciting incident.
We want to find just the right moment in the character’s life that sets the entire story in motion. Writers usually refer to this as the inciting incident—the igniting flame that starts the fire, the point of change in our character’s normal, comfortable life, that incident that forces them into ever-increasing conflict. (Note: The hook and inciting incident are usually two separate things.)
3. Start the real tension and conflict.
First chapters should contain very little if any static. Don’t waste the first pages by having the main characters sitting or standing around reflecting on life or contemplating doing certain activities. That includes conversations, meetings, or meals between characters simply for the purpose of conveying story information. It would be like writing a phone conversation and asking our reader to “watch” the characters talk to each other. How exciting is that?
Instead, heap problems upon our characters in various levels physically, emotionally, and relationally right away. I’ve always liked the way James Scott Bell summarizes plot: Put your character up in a tree, throw stones at them, and then find a way to get them down again.
4. Wait on the backstory.
Similar to the last point, in our opening scenes, readers don’t need to know how our characters got to the point they’re at. Throw our characters into the story, and for the first chapter pretend the reader already knows as much as we do.
Readers want to piece the story together on their own. We’ll give them a more fulfilling reading experience if we let them take our small hints and finally put the character’s past together in their own time. If we need to explain anything, we can always slide it in little by little later.
5. Get readers caring right away.
In creating strong characters who jump into conflict, we run the risk of them coming across as abrasive, too independent, cold, or uncaring. The trick is to find ways to make our characters likable right away, even with all of their flaws.
One way to do that is to put them in situations where the reader can’t help but feel sorry for them. Or we can have our character do something compassionate for someone else. However we choose to build reader empathy, we should do so within the first few pages. The situations don’t have to be enormous, but should be enough to make our readers begin to really like the character.
So, those are a few tips on how to begin a story. I’ll leave how to end a story for another post. In the meantime, check out my recent post for how to keep going when you feel like giving up.
How about YOU? Readers, what are some things that hook you into continuing to read a book? Writers, what are some tips you have for crafting an opening that draws in readers?
Jody Hedlund
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Sometimes I feel a little annoyed by the ambiguity of the opening paragraph and I wish it were written in chronological order. But still, finding out how the main character ended up this way is a good motivation for readers to keep reading. By the way, Abby, I have a lot in common with you. And to me, there aren’t any standard rules with the first chapter. I suppose I would write it any way I feel like.
This is such a great concise way to help a new writer (me!) to remember what works. In thinking about my favorite books to read (yours!), I can easily see why this makes for great writing. Thanks so much!
For writers, I think it’s helpful to really know your characters and how they would respond in a given situation – or in that initial inciting incident. A great setting helps, too!