What is needed in a first chapter to really grab the attention of a reader? Based on my experience critiquing a heck of a lot of first chapters of people’s writing on Wattpad, and paying attention to the first chapters of books I’ve loved, I have a pretty good idea what an engaging first chapter can include.
1. Who is the Main Character?
By the end of Chapter 1, the reader must be able to answer most of these questions about your main character:
- What’s their name? (Doesn’t have to be the full name. Even just the first name is fine.)
- What’s their gender? (I’m not talking about sexual orientation. Just gender.)
- What’s their age? (or age range, or if they are a teen, or an older adult, or an elderly person)
If I read your story, I’m expecting to be able to answer these questions based on the written text. In other words, I shouldn’t have to ask you. As my personal preference, I like to know how old the characters are or at least have a pretty good sense in the first chapter, latest, in the second chapter. If I still don’t know by the third chapter, I’m going to continuously look for answers in the book and be half distracted about the missing information.
2. The Character’s Situation
What is the situation that your character is in? In other words, I would rather you not be too mysterious and ambiguous if you can help it. That being said, I have seen books that have mysterious and ambiguous beginnings do well in spite of that feature in the first chapter. Perhaps, each to their own.
I’d want to know, are they in trouble? Are they having a good time with friends? Are they walking home? Did school just end? Are they about to go into work? Are they in a predicament? Maybe they’re just born and haven’t opened their eyes in three days? (The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale) Maybe they’re going to by an iPad and they are a grumpy old man? (A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman).
3. Grab with Action
This could be subjective, as in, my own personal preference. If I’m reading a story and it starts off with some action that I can easily imagine, I’m inclined to read beyond the first paragraph. New book, new world, new characters, it’s nice to find some easy-to-get-into action. Easy to imagine. Maybe even relate to as a bonus.
Dialogue can also be “action” as in because it is someone speaking. Makes me want to know what is going on and who is speaking. I hope the “who” is clear, however. I don’t know if I will get into a story if it’s just a bunch of voices floating in a space.
But the thing is, I don’t mean just the action of your main character.
Take “Perdido Street Station” by China Mieville. The first sentences in Part One: Commissions begin:
“A window burst open high above the market. A basket flew from it and arced towards the oblivious crowd.”
It’s not about the main character, or any character for that matter. But it’s an action and it’s one that I can easily imagine and I hope you can too. A window opens and a basket flies from it. I’m already reading ahead and getting sucked into the story, wondering what on earth is going on.
I think that’s the key to a engaging hook in the first chapter.
4. A Sense of Personality
From the first chapter, the character’s personality should shine through a little bit. Don’t you want the reader to follow this character for the next 30-plus chapters? It’s good to show a glimpse of who they are. You don’t have to go into details of backstory. That will come later, but only if you want it to and only if backstory will add to the plot.
Try not to info-dump.
Note on info-dump
Info-dump: As the word suggests, info-dump is dumping info onto your poor, unsuspecting readers in one big chunk. Generally, not a favorable writing style although many published books do it. I suppose there is a good and bad way to do it. Also, people can have preferences when it comes to this, I’ve found.
Tell me, is the character nice? Are they mean? Do they care about their family? (if they’re joining the family for breakfast, for example, do they say “good morning” or just ignore everyone and start eating?) Do their moods change all over the place?
“Perdido Street Station” shows the two main characters being loving and affectionate toward each other. I got the sense that they really cared about each other and also supported each other in their individual endeavors. One was a scientist and the other was a sculptor. The being said, one of the characters definitely seemed rather stubborn and he was worried about details, while the other seemed like she went with the flow and didn’t worry about things too much.
It wasn’t the entirety of Chapter 1. It was just enough in the beginning to show the characters’ personalities. While it helps if the character can interact with other characters in the beginning, it is possible through reading about the character’s own perceptions about the world, that readers can get a sense of their personality.
In “A Man Called Ove”, the first chapter begins with Ove grumbling about the world around him. Everyone and everything is seen in a negative light. So, I thought he was quite a cynical unlikeable character. That is his personality showing through his perceptions of the world.
5. A Sense of the World
Are you writing a textbook? No. I mentioned info-dump above and this is where we have to talk about it again.
Don’t overwhelm with info-dump.
Gradually introduce the reader to the world. You can start anywhere from a mundane ordinary scene or from a spaceship. You can start from a messy closet or from a stage. You can start from a bump in the school hallway or from hands grazing the fur of a lion.
You
s l o w l y
ease
into
the world.
Like a snail.
Peppering in world building things like how magick works if you have that, the hierarchies of the people if you have that, and what people use to get around on like cars or hoverboards or whatever. Is the sky even blue? But it’s best to do it as subtly as possible, and as naturally as possible. All the while keeping in mind that the reader does not see what you are seeing in your head.
Remember, this is Chapter 1. You have so many more chapters to really dive into the world whether fantasy or non-fantasy.
Keep it light. Don’t go too heavy.
I’m sorry I can’t give any detailed advice because it really depends on the plot of the story how much info is needed in Chapter 1 (high fantasy might need more in Chapter 1 than low fantasy for example).
Make sure to get plenty of thoughts from people on the “info of the world” introduced in your first chapter if you get critiques or reviews on it. Make sure to not go by one person but at least three before you change something. I consider three to be a pretty good indication for if you need to change something.
6. Hook Them at the End
Captain Hook appears at the end of the chapter and… off to Chapter 2. What happens now?
The ending of Chapter 1 (the last few paragraphs) should leave enough questions unanswered so that readers will more likely read Chapter 2. It doesn’t have to be a massive OH NO SHE MIGHT DIE type of dramatic cliffhanger. It can be very subtle.
But not too subtle! You don’t want your first chapter to read like a short story with a nice beginning, middle, and end. The reader won’t feel like reading on. I wouldn’t 😅 I’ve read a first chapter like that. If I feel satisfied at the end of chapter one, what is going to make me read on?
If you are Sophie Kinsella, Shannon Hale, or Catherine Doyle, I will read whatever you write and even read on after a satisfying first chapter. But if I’ve never read your books or don’t know if I like your style, or maybe I’m beta reading, you have to convince me, or someone like me, to read on.
Show that there’s something worth it beyond this point. Hint at it.
Maybe I’m itching to know if Sarah finally gets accepted into the school of her dreams. That’s not even that dramatic. Maybe I want to know if Steven will call back, so he and Tim can meet up after school. They have things to talk about. What things? Maybe there’s something so intriguing about the colorful world and it’s colorful characters, and I can just feel that I’m only grazing the tippy-top of the iceberg. “Perdido Street Station” was like that. I could tell there’s so much more WORLD to see and I want to see it because already, I’ve met a Kepri woman who has a bug for a head.
Extra: Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
If you’re interested in “Perdido Street Station”, it’s an adult dystopian urban fantasy with cosmic horror elements. There’s a lot of fascinating detailed world building, characters to deeply connect with (agree with, disagree with, love, hate…), species that give an Eldritch type of vibe because you can’t even begin to understand them. It’s got some science fantasy and sci-fi elements. Unapologetically gritty and ooooh, it gets under your skin. No one in this story is safe.
Highly recommend it. Can you tell? I loved how gritty and cruel it was.
FOXWOOD FOREST 