A Checklist For Novel Beginnings - Foundational series, part 6

First chapters--begin as you mean to go on… but do go on

In many ways, talking about chapter one of a novel is hardly “new writer” material. But if you’re writing your first novel, it is. So here it is, in the “Foundational” series.

I think this is timely for January, too, as this is the time of year so many start new projects.

Fighting the “urge”

That first chapter is significant. There’s an urge to get it “just right,” to set the tone for what comes after, both at the first draft stage, and the later re-write stage.

You can even understand that this particular chapter will probably be re-written a number of times before the work heads out to greet the world, and still you will want to get it as close as possible to what it needs to be. And that is the right impulse (though I have a last thought on this at the end of the post).

Checklist

Title

Let’s start at the beginning. Even if you have no intention to title your chapters, do so. Think of such titles as “working titles.” Coming up with a word or string of words for this chapter and those to follow, will reveal to you whether or not each piece in the novel has the focus it should! Let it come quickly—don’t belabour this piece of the work. (But… note if it does not come quickly or not at all, as it may indicate a lack of focus to revisit.)

Opening sentence

The strongest opening sentences have several elements:

a flavor of main character; a sense of setting (time and/or place); and some emotion. You might not have all three, but check to see what you do have, and if one or more is missing, it may provide a clue as to what to add. Aim for two of these elements, at least.

Open your favorite novels and observe their opening sentences.

Closing sentence

Likewise, check out the ending. It doesn’t have to be a “cliff-hanger,” but it should cause the reader to want to turn the page. What question does it leave in their mind? And look back to the opening line; is there some connection between the two? There should be, however tenuous. (This is true of all chapters, and again of the book as a whole. Pick up faves, and read these lines throughout—you’ll find a certain shape and rhythm to this. Something you can do with yours AFTER all the work is done.)

Voice

This one is one of the most significant parts of story-telling, and you may not hit on it right in the first chapter, first draft. But you do need to think about it, and ponder how/if it is developing.

If writing in first person, all the layers of narrative — with the exceptions of secondary and tertiary characters’ dialogue — will be in “voice.” If writing in close third, the same holds true. In a more distanced third, you can share the character’s voice in dialogue, and blend with the narrator’s voice. But do be thinking of “voice,” and what this might sound like in your story. (Again, do not get stuck on this — be aware, re-visit, but go on…)

Page scan for dialogue and narrative

Seriously…! Hold up your page, hard copy, or set your screen so you are viewing the entire page, and scan for balance. That is, the ratio, say, of dialogue to narrative. Is page after page filled with large blocky paragraphs? Or is it all single-line dialogue? Is it a mixture?

Is there dialogue? Eye-balling “dialogue” in this way lets you know if you’ve created a dramatic scene — and usually indicates that you are indeed “showing” and not “telling” your story. Most of the time, this is a positive, but there are exceptions; check out this next check-point…

In Medias Res

This Latin phrase means “in the middle of things,” and is often trotted out in writing workshops as how stories should be begun.

There’s a strong compulsion to have opening chapters bursting in mid-battle scene (this is a fantasy malady!), and yes, a mid-battle scene truly is “in medias res”… except it can leave the reader thoroughly detached from any real concern for any of the characters.

So I’m going to suggest you be wary of this “in medias res” advice.

Whatever happens in the first chapter, it needs most to create a connection between your character or multiple characters, your setting, your story… and your reader. By the end of chapter one, you want for your reader to feel concern, or at the least curiosity, about the character and their situation, enough to want to read on. How are you best going to attain that?

Or set-the-scene

The alternative to “in medias res” is to take your time and “set the scene.” Think of (or re-read) the opening for Harry Potter. This is old-school tale-telling. Think of the word “inviting”: you are inviting your reader in to your theatre, you are showing them to their seat, and plying them, gently, with popcorn and beverage, and then you are grandly sweeping open the red velvet curtains, and letting them in… slowly.

Some readers prefer this, and so do some writers. Maybe more significantly, so do some stories. If in doubt, interrogate your story: what does it need? (Remember my teacher who voiced the question, “Does your choice SERVE the story?”)

The Hunger Games is a solid opening. Read those first five pages. It does fall into the stereotypical of “main character upon awakening”… and reflecting… but Suzanne Collins pulls it off, with a sense of voice and urgency (and delightful and critical bits of back-story dropped in as a word or phrase here and there). It “sets the scene” exceptionally well.

Info dumps

These are exactly what is in the phrase: a great heap of info dropped onto the poor reader all at once. In that “page scan” keep an eye out for these. Then take another look at those Collins’ pages.

The trick with “what information does the reader need?” is this: give the reader only what they need to know at the time they need to know it… and nothing more. Resist the urge to share more. They will not remember beyond what they need in that moment. Later, you can let them know more.

Establish setting

Much like the above, give them what they need, and in this case, just a bit more. You are building context. Remember that setting is both place and time. While your story might not be set in a different era, consider what season it is, and what time of day…and how is the lighting, where are shadows. No, you don’t need to tell the reader this. But you should know. You should know so that the setting seeps into your very being, and then you write from that knowledge. Ask yourself what questions your reader will be left with, about both elements of Time/Place. Have you let them know what they need to in order to enjoy the opening to the story?

Build characters

Too many characters, introduced too quickly, leaves a blur in your reader’s mind. (Also check first names, and try not to have more than one beginning with the same letter; readers are lazy, and tend not to distinguish after that first letter.)

Of course, there may be a reason you need many characters… but question it. A setting of school or workplace, where the setting itself is filled with people, can be a challenge. But then you can intro your main character/s, and give only a sense of “otherness” — the fact that your setting is inhabited by many other people. Just do not start to give them all names and characteristics. This is tricky. Question if it is necessary, or if it can wait until one of the next chapters.

Or too few? Do you intro only your main character, and end up with them looking out a window reminiscing? Or two talking heads, with no sense of context? In which case it might not be a first chapter, but a personal character study, and not intended to be on the published page at all. (Don’t toss it. You may need those words and that space to get to know them.)

And Why Now?

This may be the most important element in a first chapter.

Your reader should be left with a solid sense of why the story is beginning RIGHT NOW, at the very moment it is.

This is what gives the opening (and your character) the urgency needed to go on and read on. There should be no other moment at which the story should begin: this is it.

This might not be articulated in the story. And your reader might not be consciously aware of the knowledge. But can you articulate this for yourself? Often, when you don’t or can’t articulate is when the beginning “drags” or you constantly feel that compulsion to re-write the opening.

Last note

It’s too easy to get caught in the idea that the opening has to be “perfect” before you can go on. And so often writers end up re-writing, and then again and again, ultimately getting stuck before they ever go on. Worthy projects are often abandoned.

There is something to be said for getting off on the “right foot,” and there’s even some value in knowing when to return to the opening for a tweaking or, yes, even a re-write. This can happen mid-book, as you experience some shift in the telling of the story. But actively resist multiple re-writes of this chapter before a first draft is completed.

Know that, in the end, you will have gained such understanding of the whole, that you will then re-visit and re-write. Don’t be afraid to leap in and write on, ignoring holes in this early part of the story; they will get filled as you, and as the story itself, is ready.

Write enough to move on. Then use this checklist as you feel it is close to completion or to check for missing pieces.

Questions? thought?

Post away…