The First Chapter

The first chapter isn't the most important in a whole plot, but it is the most important to a reader. The first chapter will decide whether your reader will continue your story or throw it in the drash. As a reader and an author, it tires me to see first chapters layed out a little bit like this:

[Character intro]. [Something abnormal about character]. [Tons of backstory]. [Chapter end].

This layout of a first chapter is a huge turn-off for many and is a very cliche method of writing a first chapter. It shows that, you, as an author, have little-to-no skill with building your world. It shows that you are unskilled when it comes to explaining events and your character throughout the course of the exposition and would rather load everything in the first chapter. Personally, this tells me that you'd rather put it all in the first chapter in hopes of getting it out of the way. That is a bad thing, and will never get you published (if that's your goal) and will turn many readers, including me, away.

A good way to introduce your character is with dialogue. Have a character say your character's name within the first chapter, something like this:

I walked briskly through the hallway, trying to find my friends. Once I'd spotted them in the hall, a few feet away, I converged with the group

"Hey, Tristan," Michelle greeted me.

If you're writing in third person, a great way to start off is with your character's name. Like this:

Tristan walked briskly through the hallway in an attempt to find his friends. Once he'd spotted them he converged with their group.

"Hey, Tristan," Michelle greeted him.

As for the rest of your story, following the guidelines of the 3 Act, 9 Block structure, you should have the first chapter as an introduction to the character's life, before the inciting incident that changes everything. So you should go through the course of your character's normal day. Say your character goes to school, then work, then eats dinner with his friends at the Olive Garden, then watches a movie with his parents before going to bed. Write about that. You don't have to go too deep into detail, but try to use at least some description within those events. Emphasize how your character interacts with others that are close to him, or how much he enjoys being alone.

Remember, though, that this is the first chapter, therefore is the exposition, and you shouldn't jump into the inciting incident too soon. Having a life-changing event in the first chapter isn't exactly predictable, it's also not a good thing. It's a major turn off and, to me, makes it seem like you're trying too hard to impress us. Be patient.

Your first chapter, also, shouldn't be too depressing. You shouldn't have the reader sitting there, only on the third paragraph, already wanting to cry their eyes out. This doesn't say that your writing is powerful, it shows that your story is depressing. I know that here on Mibba there are a lot of stories where they're supposed to be depressing, but a plot has 5 things: an exposition, or introduction, rising action, where the conflict or problem worsens, climax, where the biggest event happens and everything beyond is uneventful compared to this, the falling action, where there are otherwise very minor events clearing up the conflict, and the resolution, where everything is resolved, or ended. Starting off the first chapter with a lot of depressing stuff is not a good thing. You're supposed to let the problem intensify as the story goes on.

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