The most deluded thing a writer can tell a prospective publisher about their recently finished manuscript is that “it gets better as it goes.” That may well be true but if you’re saying that as an excuse for a lackluster opening, then you best rethink some things. And regardless of whether you have faith in your opening chapter, saying that things improve later in the book is not what a publisher wants to hear. A good first chapter — hell, a good first paragraph — is essential in getting your book sold.A publisher/editor/agent/reader wants to know your book is worth their time.
The same person who can sit through a 2 hour snooze fest of a movie will not read your 400 page cure for insomnia. Saying that it gets better as it goes isn’t good enough; show us the goods now. Dazzle us with some beautiful dialogue, make us look at something different with some clever narrative observation, stun us with the unexpected. The thinking is that if you haven’t impressed us by the end of page one and haven’t hooked us by the end of chapter one then you never will. Maybe that’s unfair – TV shows and movies get more time to find their footing – but that’s what’s expected from you as a novelist.
Let’s look at a few additional thoughts and insights on the importance of a good first chapter. These are not rules. We don’t believe in rules. But they are things that you should consider when crafting your first chapter.
Weather and Dialogue
It is not wise to begin your book with a description of the weather or with a line of dialogue. I’ve seen both done time and again but they do not inspire confidence when featured in the fiction of an unknown author. The fear is that you’re going to begin your book with ‘It was a dark and stormy night’ and then check off all the clichés as you work your way towards ‘The End…?’ There are better ways to enter a story than the Weather Channel. The reason we are encouraged not to open with dialogue is that the reader doesn’t know the characters yet. To be thrown into a story with dialogue coming from some unknown, alien source makes the reader feel uncertain about where they stand. It’s best to get to know the setting and the characters before they start talking to us.
When to Start
Start at the latest point possible. Start when the drama is getting good. Family struggle led your characters to this point of contention? Okay, we can hear about the first arguments later. Let’s enter the story when things are at their most interesting, when drama is nearing the boiling point. Publishers don’t like prologues for just this reason; they’re concerned you’re starting the book with unnecessary backstory. Readers don’t mind prologues; they tend to think they’re just a thing some books have and some don’t. And sometimes a prologue is necessary, I don’t doubt that. But you best be sure it’s a damned beautiful prologue that the story couldn’t do without. Otherwise, why is it there?
Shock Value
In an effort to grab the reader, we may be tempted to opt for shock value. If your book is continually shocking, go for it. But if you’re just looking at how network reality TV keeps its ratings up by putting its cast through unbelievable shit in the first five minutes of an episode, you’re going at this all wrong. Readers and publishers enjoy a good shock but they also know that it’s a trick an author will deploy when they’re low on real ideas. If your best way to grab your reader’s attention is to do some human centipede shit in chapter one then the reader will grow suspicious. Surprise us but don’t be cheap about it.
Protagonists
A film can set up supporting characters for a few scenes before introducing us to our main character. In fiction, we’re taught not to do this. Again, this is a rule made to be broken, but if your intention is to appease the gatekeepers of publishing then it is something you should consider. The reader should know who this book’s universe revolves around as early as possible. Most novels have one primary narrator and the idea is that we should open the book to their voice, not some secondary role that’s just making time until the leading lady shows up. The film Fargo didn’t introduce its hero until the second act. A novel from a lesser known author probably can’t get away with that.
Self-Published Authors
All this talk about publishers and how they expect a good first chapter may lead the indie author to believe that this advice does not apply to them… This is wrong. Ebooks will make up the vast majority of your sales. Unless a reader followed a good review to your book and downloaded it right away, chances are that a reader is going to take a sneak peek preview of what your book looks like past the cover art. At virtually every online bookseller there exists the option to preview the first couple chapters of a book for free before buying it. The reason why you need a good first page to impress publishers is the same reason why you need a good first page to impress prospective readers. A great number of things go into making your fiction a failure or a success, but your first couple lines, your first couple pages, and your first couple chapters could very well decide whether you sell a book or get passed up by a curious reader browsing the Kindle marketplace.
Re-Write, Re-Write, Re-Write
I do not enjoy the editing process beyond the second draft. Editing the first draft, chopping it up and making it look pretty for Your Book 2.0, that’s fine. But once you get to Draft 3, 4, and so on, the fun has been sucked out and it becomes a tedious job. However, the one thing I do still get some perverse joy out of in Draft 5 is reworking Chapter 1. It is so important to get that chapter right. No other chapter in my fiction undergoes so much revision. Chapter 1 of the first draft is radically different from the Chapter 1 of my final draft. When you first sit down to write your book, you’re still trying to figure out just what you’re hoping to say. You’re tripping through the dark, looking for a light switch. The themes aren’t all there, the intent isn’t all clear, and (probably) your prose isn’t its sharpest. It is so important for you to spend a little extra time on Chapter 1 in your rewrites. If you’re like me – and I know I am – your first draft was kinda shitty and nowhere was it shittier than page 1. Now your job is to make it one of the best pages in the entire book. Best of luck!
And Finally… Don’t Kill the Dog on Page 1
It’s just probably not a very good idea.
