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Let's talk about your first chapter.
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There's a lot writing on it because it's what binds a reader to your story.
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It's also often the first thing an agent sees after a query.
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The first 10 pages, the first chapter, sometimes the first three.
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So your first chapter matters, you know that.
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But here's what I want you to hear before anything else.
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Your first chapter is something you'll come back to again and again as you write forward and as you revise.
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There's no reason to get it perfect before you move on to the rest of your book, because the rest of the book is going to inform your opening.
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It's going to change, and that's normal.
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And when a first chapter really works, I found it's rarely about the quality of the writing, it's what's happening underneath it.
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So today I want to walk you through three things I see again and again in first chapters and what to look for in your own.
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This is where exposition and backstory can get in the way.
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Exposition is information the story needs in order to proceed.
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It's what the reader needs to take in the story.
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And exposition itself is not the enemy.
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Plenty of great chapters open with it.
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The trick is that the best exposition often doesn't feel like exposition because it's embedded in something that's already alive on the page.
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For example, there's a young adult novel, Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron.
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And it opens with a paragraph of pure information.
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We learn about a sister who's decided to repronounce her name, a mother back early from her third honeymoon, a marriage nobody expected to last.
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Now, on the surface, that's a lot of family information, but it doesn't feel like we're being handed a bunch of facts because all of it comes through the narrator's very specific, opinionated take on his own family, his skepticism about his mother's idea of fun, his dry observations about how adults deceive themselves.
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So we're getting information, yes, but at the same time, we're getting character.
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The first thing you want your first chapter to do is draw us into your character's world before you disrupt it, and above all, make us care.
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That's the difference between simply giving us information and filtering that information through the person who's experiencing the story.
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The same thing applies to backstory.
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Backstory is anything that happened before page one.
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And the question isn't whether you can include it in a first chapter.
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Of course you can.
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The question is why do we need it right now?
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And how much do we need?
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And someday this pain will be useful to you.
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The narrator walks his dog past a memorial plaque on his street, and that one physical detail pulls in a small, precise piece of his parents' divorce.
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So the present triggers the past.
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And we get just enough of that history to deepen what's happening now.
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And the memorial plaque is significant.
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The backdrop of the novel is 9-11, which we learn later he witnessed.
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So although it's not prominent in the story because he's suppressing it, it's introduced in the first chapter.
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Not everything that has ever happened to your character is significant to the story you're telling.
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It certainly doesn't belong in the first chapter.
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And if it does, it should be in small doses.
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The history that matters is the history that's shaping how your character experiences what's happening now, what they want, what they fear, what they expect, what they believe.
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So if your first chapter feels heavy, take a look at the information you're giving the reader and ask yourself, does the reader need to know this right now?
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And if they do, can that information emerge from what's happening in the present rather than stopping the present so you can explain it?
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Because your reader doesn't need to know everything yet, they need a reason to keep reading.
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Okay, on to number two.
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There's no clear event shaping the chapter.
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So the chapter is not shaped around a particular event.
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This is another thing I see when a first chapter hasn't really found its shape yet.
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Lots of things are happening, but it's piled on without a feeling of progression, or it's a lot of mundane stuff that doesn't move the story forward.
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Now, there may be perfectly good writing in all of this, but what's the chapter actually about?
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What is its story purpose?
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The strongest first chapters tend to be built around something specific that's happening.
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One afternoon, one evening, one conversation, one arrival, one encounter, a mother's unexpected return from her honeymoon, a failed community theater performance, a conversation in a bedroom that doesn't go the way either person expected.
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In other words, it's an event.
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And an event has shape.
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So you have to ask, why this day?
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Why this moment?
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Why start here?
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Someone comes into the story wanting or expecting something.
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It could be as simple as a character trying to sleep after three days of insomnia.
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Something happens that complicates that expectation or that desire.
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And by the time the event is over, something has changed.
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Something has shifted.
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Now, it doesn't have to be enormous.
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Your protagonist doesn't need to discover a body in the first chapter.
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The house doesn't need to burn down.
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Sometimes the change is subtle.
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The character just makes a decision.
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Sometimes it's more dramatic.
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But the situation at the end of the first chapter isn't the same as it was at the beginning.
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There's been a shift.
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Even if the shift is subtle.
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That's what gives the chapter movement.
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So if your first chapter is moving from the house to the car to the office to the coffee shop with her best friend, ask yourself whether tightening the writing is really what's needed.
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Or whether you haven't figured out what the first chapter is built around.
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What is happening here?
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Where does it begin?
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Where does it end?
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And what's different because it happened?
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Once you know that, the chapter starts to have a shape.
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Okay, on to number three.
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Nobody wants anything badly enough.
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Sometimes there's an event, there are characters, things are happening, but the chapter still feels flat.
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Often that's because nobody wants anything badly enough.
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And when I say want, I'm not talking about your protagonist's giant story goal.
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Your character doesn't need to walk on to page one announcing what they want from life.
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I'm talking about what they want right now when we meet her.
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Maya wants to sleep, so she takes Benatrill, then she tries a shot of whiskey.
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18-year-old James wants to navigate complicated family dynamics.
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And later in the chapter, he just wants to be alone and not follow conventional paths.
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Now, none of this is stated directly.
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It's all embedded in the action.
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When James's mother comes home early and alone from her honeymoon, we know it's a single family household.
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We also learn James didn't go to work at the art gallery, a job that she had set up for him, so there's a little disagreement in the dialogue there.
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And then we see him walk the dog wanting to be alone.
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So think about the overarching desire driving your character and start seeding that desire in your first chapter.
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Don't explain it.
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Allow it to be embedded in your character's interactions, in your character's actions.
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We go into more detail on how to introduce your protagonist and your story in my three-act story course, which at the time of this recording, I'll be reopening soon.
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So stay tuned for more information on that.
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But your first chapter introduces some element of conflict.
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Conflict doesn't necessarily mean an argument.
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It doesn't have to be loud.
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It simply means that what one person wants or expects comes up against something else, other wills, reality, a situation, or another person or group of people.
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There's tension.
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Now even a very quiet conversation can have tension.
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Even a playful conversation can have tension.
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One person wants to talk about something, the other wants to talk about something else, or they come at it from different angles.
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Each character is trying to affect the other.
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So before you start trying to make your first chapter more dramatic, ask a simpler question.
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What does my protagonist come into the story already wanting?
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It doesn't have to be the main thing they'll pursue as the story presses forward, but there should be some unrest, some discomfort, something already off balance.
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Then ask what's getting in the way.
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And if there are other characters in the scene, what do they want?
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When those wants rub against each other, you have conflict.
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And now the first chapter has somewhere to go.
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If your first chapter still isn't working after another round of revisions, I'd encourage you to stop rewriting it for a moment.
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Look underneath it.
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Are you giving the reader too much information before you've given them something to enter?
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Is there a clear event shaping the chapter?
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Something with a beginning, a middle, and an end?
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And does your protagonist want something inside that event that isn't easy to get?
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Because most of the time, a first chapter doesn't need another round of polishing.
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It needs something happening now, something the character wants, and something standing in the way.
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Your first chapter doesn't have to be perfect to do its job.
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It just has to be alive.
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One clear event, one character who wants something they can't easily get, that is enough to make a reader stay.
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Everything else, the polish, the perfect sentences, the exact right opening line, that can come later.
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It comes easier too once the chapter actually has something happening inside it.
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And once you know how the rest of your story unfolds and how it ends, you can go back into your opening chapter and plant the seeds of what's to follow.
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So number one, don't give too much information too soon.
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Don't front load it.
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Number two, make sure the chapter is shaped around a clear event, not just things happening.
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And number three, make sure that your main character comes into the story already craving something.
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That will help you write a first chapter that really lures the reader in.
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So there you have it.
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Thanks for hanging out with me today.
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If you know any writers who need some support in their writing, please share this episode or the Writer Unleash podcast in general.
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And if you love what you're listening to, subscribe on your favorite listening platform.
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And if you're listening on Apple, please leave me a review.
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Reading how this podcast impacts your writing truly lights me up and helps me create topics for the show.
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Till next time, keep writing and I'll talk to you soon.
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Let's talk about your first chapter.
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There's a lot writing on it because it's what binds a reader to your story.
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It's also often the first thing an agent sees after a query.
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The first 10 pages, the first chapter, sometimes the first three.
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So your first chapter matters, you know that.
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But here's what I want you to hear before anything else.
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Your first chapter is something you'll come back to again and again as you write forward and as you revise.
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There's no reason to get it perfect before you move on to the rest of your book, because the rest of the book is going to inform your opening.
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It's going to change, and that's normal.
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And when a first chapter really works, I found it's rarely about the quality of the writing, it's what's happening underneath it.
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So today I want to walk you through three things I see again and again in first chapters and what to look for in your own.
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This is where exposition and backstory can get in the way.
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Exposition is information the story needs in order to proceed.
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It's what the reader needs to take in the story.
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And exposition itself is not the enemy.
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Plenty of great chapters open with it.
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The trick is that the best exposition often doesn't feel like exposition because it's embedded in something that's already alive on the page.
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For example, there's a young adult novel, Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron.
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And it opens with a paragraph of pure information.
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We learn about a sister who's decided to repronounce her name, a mother back early from her third honeymoon, a marriage nobody expected to last.
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Now, on the surface, that's a lot of family information, but it doesn't feel like we're being handed a bunch of facts because all of it comes through the narrator's very specific, opinionated take on his own family, his skepticism about his mother's idea of fun, his dry observations about how adults deceive themselves.
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So we're getting information, yes, but at the same time, we're getting character.
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The first thing you want your first chapter to do is draw us into your character's world before you disrupt it, and above all, make us care.
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That's the difference between simply giving us information and filtering that information through the person who's experiencing the story.
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The same thing applies to backstory.
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Backstory is anything that happened before page one.
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And the question isn't whether you can include it in a first chapter.
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Of course you can.
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The question is why do we need it right now?
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And how much do we need?
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And someday this pain will be useful to you.
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The narrator walks his dog past a memorial plaque on his street, and that one physical detail pulls in a small, precise piece of his parents' divorce.
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So the present triggers the past.
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And we get just enough of that history to deepen what's happening now.
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And the memorial plaque is significant.
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The backdrop of the novel is 9-11, which we learn later he witnessed.
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So although it's not prominent in the story because he's suppressing it, it's introduced in the first chapter.
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Not everything that has ever happened to your character is significant to the story you're telling.
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It certainly doesn't belong in the first chapter.
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And if it does, it should be in small doses.
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The history that matters is the history that's shaping how your character experiences what's happening now, what they want, what they fear, what they expect, what they believe.
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So if your first chapter feels heavy, take a look at the information you're giving the reader and ask yourself, does the reader need to know this right now?
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And if they do, can that information emerge from what's happening in the present rather than stopping the present so you can explain it?
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Because your reader doesn't need to know everything yet, they need a reason to keep reading.
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Okay, on to number two.
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There's no clear event shaping the chapter.
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So the chapter is not shaped around a particular event.
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This is another thing I see when a first chapter hasn't really found its shape yet.
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Lots of things are happening, but it's piled on without a feeling of progression, or it's a lot of mundane stuff that doesn't move the story forward.
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Now, there may be perfectly good writing in all of this, but what's the chapter actually about?
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What is its story purpose?
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The strongest first chapters tend to be built around something specific that's happening.
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One afternoon, one evening, one conversation, one arrival, one encounter, a mother's unexpected return from her honeymoon, a failed community theater performance, a conversation in a bedroom that doesn't go the way either person expected.
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In other words, it's an event.
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And an event has shape.
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So you have to ask, why this day?
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Why this moment?
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Why start here?
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Someone comes into the story wanting or expecting something.
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It could be as simple as a character trying to sleep after three days of insomnia.
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Something happens that complicates that expectation or that desire.
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And by the time the event is over, something has changed.
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Something has shifted.
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Now, it doesn't have to be enormous.
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Your protagonist doesn't need to discover a body in the first chapter.
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The house doesn't need to burn down.
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Sometimes the change is subtle.
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The character just makes a decision.
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Sometimes it's more dramatic.
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But the situation at the end of the first chapter isn't the same as it was at the beginning.
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There's been a shift.
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Even if the shift is subtle.
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That's what gives the chapter movement.
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So if your first chapter is moving from the house to the car to the office to the coffee shop with her best friend, ask yourself whether tightening the writing is really what's needed.
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Or whether you haven't figured out what the first chapter is built around.
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What is happening here?
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Where does it begin?
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Where does it end?
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And what's different because it happened?
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Once you know that, the chapter starts to have a shape.
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Okay, on to number three.
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Nobody wants anything badly enough.
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Sometimes there's an event, there are characters, things are happening, but the chapter still feels flat.
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Often that's because nobody wants anything badly enough.
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And when I say want, I'm not talking about your protagonist's giant story goal.
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Your character doesn't need to walk on to page one announcing what they want from life.
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I'm talking about what they want right now when we meet her.
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Maya wants to sleep, so she takes Benatrill, then she tries a shot of whiskey.
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18-year-old James wants to navigate complicated family dynamics.
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And later in the chapter, he just wants to be alone and not follow conventional paths.
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Now, none of this is stated directly.
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It's all embedded in the action.
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When James's mother comes home early and alone from her honeymoon, we know it's a single family household.
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We also learn James didn't go to work at the art gallery, a job that she had set up for him, so there's a little disagreement in the dialogue there.
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And then we see him walk the dog wanting to be alone.
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So think about the overarching desire driving your character and start seeding that desire in your first chapter.
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Don't explain it.
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Allow it to be embedded in your character's interactions, in your character's actions.
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We go into more detail on how to introduce your protagonist and your story in my three-act story course, which at the time of this recording, I'll be reopening soon.
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So stay tuned for more information on that.
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But your first chapter introduces some element of conflict.
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Conflict doesn't necessarily mean an argument.
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It doesn't have to be loud.
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It simply means that what one person wants or expects comes up against something else, other wills, reality, a situation, or another person or group of people.
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There's tension.
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Now even a very quiet conversation can have tension.
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Even a playful conversation can have tension.
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One person wants to talk about something, the other wants to talk about something else, or they come at it from different angles.
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Each character is trying to affect the other.
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So before you start trying to make your first chapter more dramatic, ask a simpler question.
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What does my protagonist come into the story already wanting?
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It doesn't have to be the main thing they'll pursue as the story presses forward, but there should be some unrest, some discomfort, something already off balance.
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Then ask what's getting in the way.
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And if there are other characters in the scene, what do they want?
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When those wants rub against each other, you have conflict.
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And now the first chapter has somewhere to go.
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If your first chapter still isn't working after another round of revisions, I'd encourage you to stop rewriting it for a moment.
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Look underneath it.
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Are you giving the reader too much information before you've given them something to enter?
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Is there a clear event shaping the chapter?
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Something with a beginning, a middle, and an end?
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And does your protagonist want something inside that event that isn't easy to get?
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Because most of the time, a first chapter doesn't need another round of polishing.
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It needs something happening now, something the character wants, and something standing in the way.
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Your first chapter doesn't have to be perfect to do its job.
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It just has to be alive.
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One clear event, one character who wants something they can't easily get, that is enough to make a reader stay.
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Everything else, the polish, the perfect sentences, the exact right opening line, that can come later.
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It comes easier too once the chapter actually has something happening inside it.
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And once you know how the rest of your story unfolds and how it ends, you can go back into your opening chapter and plant the seeds of what's to follow.
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So number one, don't give too much information too soon.
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Don't front load it.
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Number two, make sure the chapter is shaped around a clear event, not just things happening.
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And number three, make sure that your main character comes into the story already craving something.
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That will help you write a first chapter that really lures the reader in.
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So there you have it.
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Thanks for hanging out with me today.
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If you know any writers who need some support in their writing, please share this episode or the Writer Unleash podcast in general.
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And if you love what you're listening to, subscribe on your favorite listening platform.
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And if you're listening on Apple, please leave me a review.
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Reading how this podcast impacts your writing truly lights me up and helps me create topics for the show.
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Till next time, keep writing and I'll talk to you soon.
