Writing Wednesday: Start with Small Conflict

I had a friend (Grant Morgan) years ago who developed a theory of a first chapter genre book. He argued that it was too much to try to introduce the larger conflict of a big novel, especially an epic fantasy, in the first chapter. It just led to long paragraphs, endless explanations, showing rather than telling, too much jargon, and a general sense of lack of motion. It also ended up interrupting what he thought was the most important thing to do in the first chapter narratively, which was to get the reader interested in the protagonist/s and care about what happened to them next.

So, his solution was to start a novel with a small conflict. It was important that there be a conflict, because let's face it, it feels like something is happening and we're not just being treated to a long character description. There are authors out there who can get away with doing that in a first chapter (Stephen King comes to mind). They write so well about character that we can read almost anything that happens. It's not just pretty writing. It's knowing the human condition so well.

But for the rest of us, we need to show a character doing something. It helps define a character to see how they react in conflict. Do they get angry? Violent? Do they turn and run away? Do they think about other people they need to protect? Do they think about how their opponent feels? It helps us to see if the character is active or passive, what they are afraid of, who they care about, what matters, and what their worldview is. Really, all in one. It doesn't show us how they're going to change and develop in the course of the novel or what new obstacles are going to come along to shake them up, but it does what a beginning is supposed to do. It grabs you and throws you forward into the larger part of the novel.

The conflict does not necessarily have to lead to anything else. It can. If you are clever, that can be really useful. But the only real thing to watch out for is to make sure that the conflict isn't trivial. It can't be something easily solved by anyone with half a brain or heart. It can't be something that isn't real and is actually just a misunderstanding. It can be a conflict with one of the characters who will turn into an ally later on. In fact, this is one of the most effective ways to begin. It can be an internal conflict, though that is harder to pull off since you want some sense of motion in a first chapter. It can also be a conflict with nature or with the world at large, that is, it doesn't necessarily have to do with characters who will continue in the rest of the book.

Think of The Hunger Games, where the first conflict is simply finding food. Or Twilight, where the first conflict is being the new kid at school and feeling out of place. Or Ender's Game where the first conflict is the school bully. Or Assassin's Apprentice, where the first conflict is finding Fitz a place to stay, and a name.