Ask a Published Author: What needs to be in a first chapter?

Jennifer Bosworth was born in Price, Utah. As a kid, her favorite thing to do was roam through the hills and tell herself stories. As an adult, she does the same thing, only now she’s roaming the streets of Los Angeles, her favorite city in the world.  Struck  is Jennifer’s first published novel.

I’m starting my novel today (Yay!!) But I have been avoiding the first chapter because it is a little intimidating. What are the essentials that need to be in a first chapter and how do you go about when you write them? — Ceileidh

I adore writing first chapters. That being said, the first chapter I write rarely ends up being the first chapter in the final draft.

In the case of my novel Struck, the first chapter ended up as the 22nd chapter. More often, writers tend to start their books too early, and that’s completely okay. I believe this tendency stems from the need to spend time getting to know your character before you plunge them too deep into the meat of the story. Yet another common tendency is to begin your story with a character waking up. This is actually how The Hunger Games commences, and it can work, but it’s still considered a rookie mistake by many. 

But enough about what not to do. Let’s talk about what to do with a first chapter.

There is no one, perfect way to start a book, just as there is no one way that all writers should craft their stories. But there are a few methods for approaching first chapters that will help you capture the reader’s attention and leave them wanting more: 

Forget first chapters, the first line is even more important! This is some valuable real estate, people. In a single line you can convey voice or irony. Tragedy or mystery. Humor or horror. For me, the best first lines contain some kind of hook, an element that sets the book apart.

The first line of Struck reads:

“When you’ve been struck by lightning as many times as I have, you start to expect the worst pretty much all the time."

This line was specifically crafted to do several things. It gives a sense of the character’s voice, and conveys her innate pessimism. And it tells the reader that she is extraordinary. Only a special kind of person can survive countless lightning strikes.

What do you want your reader to know upon reading your first line? How do you want them to feel? What is it about your story that’s going to grab their attention? 

Here are a few examples of wonderful first lines:

Joe Hill, NOS4A2:

"Nurse Thornton dropped into the long-term-care ward a little before eight with a hot bag of blood for Charlie Manx."

Marie Lu, Legend:

"My mother thinks I’m dead." 

Kristin Kittscher, The Wig in the Window

"I thought I’d mastered the art of escape." 

Lead with your strengths. Are you a master of dialogue? Then start with a conversation. Do you have voice nailed down? Then go with a voice-filled first chapter that makes us fall in love with your protagonist. Are you writing something comedic? Then start with something that will make the reader chuckle. Does your story have a great hook? Maybe we need a taste of that hook in the first chapter. Are you writing a horror novel? If so, you don’t have to scare us right away, but you do have to create a tone that will carry through the rest of the novel. 

Don’t get attached. Honestly, the most important thing is to start. Maybe you don’t have the perfect first chapter figured out yet. Who cares? It took me several rewrites before I found my first chapter for Struck. If you don’t start, you’ll never finish. So just write something. Don’t think too much. You can always go back and revise until you get it just right, but before you can hone your first chapter, you have to write your last chapter.

Many writers get so caught up in perfecting their opening that they never finish a book. Don’t let yourself become a statistic. It’s more important to have a completed draft than to have nothing but a perfect first chapter.

Next week, UK authors Julia Crouch and Sarah Duncan will team up as Head Counselors. Julia is the author of thrillers  Cuckoo  and  Tarnished . Sarah has written five romance novels, including  Kissing Mr. Wrong .

Ask them your questions here!