Chapter One. It’s what gets agents to represent your book, it’s what gets publishers to publish your book, and it’s what gets readers to read your book. First impressions are everything! So here’s a list of resources for you when writing, workshopping, critiquing, editing, or rewriting the beginning of your novel.

The 8 C’s of Plotting: Prologue, Opening, Captivation, Change

Part of my series on plot and story structure, this post focuses on the beginning.

Subjects: the Inciting Incident (“Change”), Rooting Interests, Prologues, Opening Lines, Nine Ways to Start a Novel

WATCH, or: Where to Start and End your Novel

This post explains the acronym WATCH, asks what kind of novel you’re writing, and then teaches four different methods of where/how to begin and end your novel.

Subjects: Genre, World Building, Character Introductions

QUIZ: How should you start your novel?

A companion post to “WATCH,” this quiz will help you choose a direction when writing your beginning.

What NOT to Do When Beginning Your Novel: Advice from Literary Agents

Self explanatory!

Famous First Lines Reveal How to Start a Novel

Seventeen opening lines and seven methods of writing your own

10 Ways to Start Your Story Better

Ten more methods for writing your opening line

How to Start Your Novel: What The Movie TRUE LIES Taught Me

Compare this to method #4 of “10 Ways to Start Your Story Better” for a different opinion regarding “inside-out” versus “outside-in” beginnings

Books

• Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go by Les Edgerton
• Chapter 3 of How to Grow a Novel by Sol Stein
• The Writer’s Little Helper by James V. Smith, Jr.

I’m currently working through Bill Idelson’s Writing Class, which I highly recommend for any storyteller. It is very straightforward and highly approachable. If you read it one chapter at a time and do the assignments without skipping ahead, you WILL become a better writer. In this curriculum, Bill gives the secret to storytelling:

What makes a story? 1) A character, 2) a desire or goal, and 3) an obstacle. Introduce all three elements at the beginning. If you haven’t introduced them all at the beginning of your story, you’re starting your story at the wrong place. 

Read more about character + obstacle + goal in my post here.

Final Note

Want your first chapter edited by me? Fill out a quote request here and select “substantive edit” to get a sample line edit of your first 1,000 words. Then check out my special rates for the first 10 pages and 10,000 words.