The Editorial Space

First impressions matter, and I’m not talking about the cover of your book. I’m talking about when a reader picks up your book, turns to the first page and delves into the world of your creation. 

As an author you have a responsibility to provide your reader with a reason to stay. A reason why they should spend their precious minutes, hours, and days with your novel.

You need to set the tone, and you need to make that first impression compelling enough to capture the reader’s attention.

And where do you do this? 

Your opening chapters.

Subconsciously, in the few moments it takes to read those opening scenes, the reader will ask (and answer) questions along the lines of ‘does this story resonate with me?’ ‘Do I feel a connection somehow?’ ‘Is it capturing my attention enough that I want to read further?’ ‘Is the protagonist interesting, real, relatable?’

Your opening chapters need to do a lot in a short space of time. In today’s world of smart phones and fast entertainment, readers demand instant engagement. No pressure.

Unfortunately, there is no magic formula that fits all, but there are some things that editors will recommend you have within those crucial opening scenes. What follows here is advice to help guide and not dictate. Find what works for you and your story.

1. A worthy first line

Nail that first line. Easy to say or? What makes a first line great? What makes it pop? What makes the reader want to read further? Is it the vivid sensory details that you have used to hook your reader? Perhaps it is the atmosphere you have created, using descriptive language that opens a door, immersing the reader into your world?

Again, there is no magic recipe, but consider this: human beings are naturally curious, we love to learn the why and the how, and that is one of the main reasons why we keep reading. 

Your first line can be quite simple, it doesn’t have to be full of complicated prose, exploding spaceships or action that excites (if it is, that’s okay too!) What it has to do, is make us curious to know more.

Perhaps what makes your reader curious is the unique voice coming from your protagonist? (More on that later).

Don’t give your readers all the answers straight away, just enough to make them inquisitive, to make them question. 

A common starting point of many stories is ‘in media res’ – Latin for starting in middle of things. This invites the reader perfectly inside your world, dropping them in the midst of the action. Questions are sure to arise, and readers will play an active part in the story right from the start.

Some great examples, and favourites of mine include:

“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.” I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith.

“The story so far: in the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a a bad move.” The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams.

“Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again,” Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier.

“It was the day my grandmother exploded.” The Crow Road, Iain Banks.

“The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone,” The Last Unicorn, P.S. Beagle.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit,” The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien.

“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.” Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston.

“I’m pretty much fucked.” The Martian, Andy Weir.

These are just some examples of what I think make a great opening line, but they might not be to your taste. Let me know in the comments what some of your favourites are.

2. Introduce compelling characters

Your protagonist is extremely important. You need your reader to care about them as soon as possible. In order to do this, make them realistic – they should have both strengths and weaknesses.

And don’t confuse liking with caring. Liking is great, but caring is a whole other level. Readers may like your character, but that doesn’t mean to say they care about them. Surprisingly, unlikeable characters can often be more compelling.

Introduce your character doing something that reflects their personality early on, whether that’s something likeable or not. By adding depth and complexities to your character’s personality there is more chance of building a connection with your reader.

Show your character having drive, show their goals, their flaws, their needs, their yearnings. Through inner monologue, dialogue, or actions we can come to understand what makes your character tick. 

A unique character voice is a great way to establish a connection with your reader. To form this voice, you must take a long hard look at your protagonist’s backstory: what makes them act and react the way they do.

Influences such as upbringing, education, gender, culture, values, religion, and lots more, can infuse your protagonist with personality and a unique voice.

Your readers definitely don’t need to know every small detail, but to be able to produce a unique voice, you do. 

3. Introduce the immediate goal

As well as introducing the protagonist you also want to introduce their immediate goal. This does not necessarily have to be the overall goal of the story. By having your protagonist have an immediate goal it makes them proactive and interesting.

Don’t have your character state their immediate goal outright, by establishing their current situation you can help give a context to the goal, without over explaining it. You can also introduce something or someone that hinders your protagonist from reaching their immediate goal.

Even if the initial goal is not beneficial to them or their situation, the seed still needs to be planted. This will establish a hint of what drives your character to make the decisions that they do.

4. Introduce conflict

Your opening scenes need to have a hint of conflict and a sense of what is yet to come. There needs to be tension and intrigue. But what is conflict? Conflict is what stops your protagonist from reaching their goal.

This can come in the form of external conflict, inner conflict or in a situation your character needs to resolve in order to take the next step towards obtaining their goal. Perhaps you could use a harsh or unstable environment to introduce a different type of conflict.

What is happening to your characters inner monologue? Are they wrestling with something that will impede their goals? What are their desires? Can you contrast them with the reality that they are currently facing? 

Another way to introduce conflict can be done with foreshadowing. Dropping little hints of something being not quite right builds narrative tension. But careful to not do it too much, otherwise you risk wearing out your reader.

5. Set the tone, style, mood and genre

Your choice of words, sentence structure and paragraph length will give your reader unconscious expectations for the rest of the novel. Do you have a dramatic, powerful novel? A funny, light novel? Perhaps you decide to use short, punchy sentences for urgency or action. Perhaps long, flowing, lyrical ones for introspection or dreamy tones.

There are a number of ways to set mood. It can be done through descriptions of the setting, using sensory imagery, through characters emotional experiences and through theme (see below).

Establishing a strong narrative voice, whether it is formal, sarcastic, poetic, detached or intimate, will help you to set both the tone and style from the first line.

Consider what sort of conflict will your novel explore? Perhaps you could start your novel with a situation that reflects this.

Could you use metaphors or similes to reinforce the tone?

Together with setting the right tone and language, genre can be established by including recognisable elements that signal to the reader what kind of story they’re entering. This can be in any number of ways, such as, using familiar tropes or motifs, including key conflicts or stakes, foreshadowing genre-specific rules, or by invoking reader expectations (even if you plan to subvert them later).

6. A hint of setting

Establish a sense of the location or world, something that grounds the reader. But here’s the tricky part – don’t overdo it. How do you avoid an info dump? Drip, drip, drip, a little goes a long way. A few select words here and there. We don’t need to know everything right away, we barely need to know a tenth of it. Give the reader a moment, don’t overwhelm them

To give a hint at your setting you could introduce specific objects or customs: mention unique items/food/rituals/greetings. Perhaps there are subtle references to past events that shaped the current situation?

Worldbuilding is great, and as a fantasy lover, I live for the worldbuilding, but don’t throw it all in my face at once. Take me by the hand and guide me through it, step by step. Showing the reader instead of telling can also work wonders here.

7. A hint of theme

Without theme you may well have an intriguing plot and compelling characters, but you risk your novel feeling hollow. If there are no lessons learnt, no growth, no sense of your work being about something bigger, then there is an integral part of your novel missing.

To give hint of theme you could use symbolism: introduce a meaningful object, setting or image that represents a bigger idea.

By having your protagonist face a small decision or express a viewpoint that aligns with the theme could be another way. Or you could foreshadow your characters transformation: showing subtle signs that your character might change can indicate a thematic journey.

Try using mood and tone (see above) to establish a hint of theme. Creating an emotional atmosphere (bleak, hopeful, ironic) could be used to signal what type of emotional terrain your novel might explore.

Some authors like to start with theme as a main component in their first scenes, others prefer to concentrate on plot or characters. Whichever you prefer, don’t spell out the theme to your readers, otherwise you run the risk of sounding preachy.

In summary: see what compels you

Take a look at your bookshelves and find ten books that you felt compelled to read, not because of the cover, but because of those opening scenes. What elements did they include? Try to pinpoint what drove you to read them, what captured your heart and soul?

Have a think about what unanswered questions you can include in your novel. These are the question that will keep your reader up at night turning page after page.

The opening of a novel, more than anywhere, is the place where you need to handle the balance between divulging and holding back information with the most care. Strike the balance right and your readers will love you for it.

I’ve created a downloadable freebie checklist of points and questions to help you with your opening chapters to use whenever you need.

Interested in finding out more? Does the opening of your manuscript have something lacking, but you can’t put your finger on what exactly? Have a look at my mini-editing service for Opening Chapter Analysis.