An opening chapter is a book’s shop window – get it right!

[Joe]

It’s probably self-evident why it’s important to have a strong opening chapter to a story. It’s more than just the scene-setter, it’s the hook to grab the attention of readers – the one big opportunity for an author to convince his paying guests that it’s worth their while to stick around.

It’s all well and good having fancy cover blurbs and trailers to entice readers into your parlour but when they get tucked into the first course you had better be at your writing best. Killer opening chapters are what ‘sells’ you as a writer, so make sure you bring your A-game to the table.

It doesn’t matter what your book is about, or how you intend to unfold the story, you MUST ensure there’s enough going on in those opening pages to convince the customer that this is a journey he wants to undertake with you.

Often what is required is little more than attention to detail. The first chapter should be written, rewritten, edited, re-edited, tweaked and re-tweaked. For goodness sake don’t fall flat on your face with typos, grammos, weak dialogue, or action that wouldn’t get the attention of a nervous fly. SEE MORE AT: http://joemccoubrey.com/2012/06/20/an...

[Graham]

One piece of advice I've tried to stick to is this. When you know you have a good window of time to write, say two to three hours, start writing on the current bit that you're working on. Then, when you are totally "in" the story and everything is flowing well, go back and work on the opening chapter. The natural tendency is to tackle it when you start, which could be when you are cold, and not into the flow.

Hope this helps!

Graham

[D.M.]

I like what Graham said. I've found this to be true.

[Sherri]

That's why I like to do prequels. I know it's generally suggested that you don't do them, but I like to use them to plunge readers right into the action, then take them "back to the beginning" in Chapter 1.

[L]

Really useful advice, thank you x