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For most novelists, writing the first chapter is the most difficult step in the long journey ahead. There is so much to include in so short a space that it's easy to leave out important information, or cram in so much that the writing becomes busy and unenjoyable. The trick to creating a quality first chapter is to present enough information to build the rest of the story off of. If your beginning chapter is bare and uninteresting, your readers might unfairly assume that the rest of your novel is the same and, if they are the particularly impatient variety, may set it down at that point. If your first chapter is too busy, they will feel overwhelmed, and as a result your story will lose credibility and your readers may not be willing to suspend their disbelief.

First thing to include in Chapter 1: A Main Character

The first chapter must include a character of significance. It's understandable if you want there to be more than one important (or "main") character in your novel, but at least one of the characters introduced in the first chapter must be a main character. Beginning a story with a side character is difficult, because if the rest of the story is not about them, it will be hard to include the rest of the material required to create an engaging first chapter. For example, you decide to begin your story with Bobby, the son of a fishmonger who rather enjoys riding his tricycle in the middle of the street. You spend the entire first chapter talking about Bobby, which leads the reader to believe the whole story is about this son of a fishmonger who likes to ride his tricycle. This in itself is not a bad thing, but if your main character is really the hulking six-foot Brutus who cooks as a hobby and works late nights as a hospital security guard, it's going to be hard to include a story developing about Brutus. This is bad, because the second thing you have to include is a conflict that relates directly to the main character.

Second thing to include in Chapter 1: The Beginnings of a Conflict

Every story begins with a conflict. If your character doesn't have a problem, then the author is left with very little to relate to his or her audience.

It's usually best to begin the conflict right away, because then the reader has something to look forward to, and a reason to progress to chapter two. If you've presented a main character that the reader can care about, or a villain that the reader detests, then you've got them wanting to find out what happens to these characters. In the case of a villain, the reader may continue to reach the fellow's imminent demise...in the case of a character they care about, they may continue reading to be sure the conflict is resolved in the end. Throughout the story, between the points at which you present and resolve the conflict, you are free to take the reader through whatever trials you wish to portray to them. This is a great privilege for the writer, who is free during this time to take his audience through whatever adventures he has in store. Just make sure that while you're writing the middle of the book, you don't write anything that would diminish your readers' care or hatred of your characters...otherwise, they may stop caring what happens at the end.

If you include these two things in your first chapter...portray characters the reader will care about as well as present the beginnings of a conflict that will drive them toward a resolution...then your readers will be eager to continue on to chapter two.

Learn more about this author, Brandon Daubs.
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