Common Mistakes To Avoid In Your First Chapter

Mistakes happen to both seasoned writers and newbies alike. 

This is especially true when you don't even realize you're making a mistake. Your readers aren't going to tell you, they're just going to put your book back on the shelf and simply walk away from it onto the next shiny cover that catches their attention.

It's unfair to tell writers that the first sentence they put on the page will either make or break their novel because it's just not true.

Your first chapter on the other hand… if a reader doesn't like this then they're not going to trust that the rest of the novel gets any better.

Try to avoid these common mistakes that are made by writers working on their very first novel and authors who already have a book or two under their belt.

Your Opening is Crawling 

Your first chapter should drop your reader right into the middle of your character's lives. Not some random Tuesday in their life where nothing happens and they wake up and go to bed like normal and it all repeats again the next day. 

Your very first chapter is when you are slowly reeling in your reader on a little hook, bringing them closer and closer until they're caught in your net and can't escape your story.

Give your readers something to experience, they want to know the story they are getting into upfront.

My character is X and they need to solve the problem of Y.

Paint a mystery that your readers need to stay tuned to unravel.

Skip the Sleep

If the very first line, of not only your first chapter but of any chapter, is your character waking up.

Erase it.  

Is it possible to write your character waking up in a decent way? Yes. However, the chance of this happening isn't that great.

This is seen by many writers, editors, and publishers alike as lazy writing since it's an easy way to transition through scenes. 

If this is how you start your first chapter then you just might end up putting your reader to sleep in the process.

Easy on the Eyes 

The setting is important and it's good that your reader can visualize the space that they're in, but they're going to need more than that. 

The tree is pretty, but your first chapter shouldn't have an entire page dedicated to describing how the tree looks. If the tree is important have your character interact with it in a way that lets the reader know why it's important and how it's going to tie into the plot of your story soon enough. 

Reign in the Dump Truck 

Your first chapter is not the place to info dump all of the important pieces of backstory or information of your novel. 

The backstory is necessary for many novels, but it should be spread out amongst a few chapters and ideally throughout the whole book. 

Your plot needs to come before your character's backstory. 

To Speak or Not to Speak

Opening your novel right away with dialogue is a hit or miss in the writing community. If done well and it immediately immerses your reader into your story then go for it. But if your first line is 'Hey Bob, what do you want for dinner?' Best leave this out or move it back a few pages. 

Then again if you open with something drastic such as, 'Bob you can't keep eating the neighbor's cat for dinner,' and then you follow it up with just a boring first scene… your reader is going to feel like you tried to pull a fast one on them. 

Your first chapter is more than the first line, you have to keep them on the hook for at least a few pages.

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Mistakes happen and even then mistakes are subjective. For every mistake I listed I'm sure there is someone who can pull out a copy of some book they read where the author did it and the book is a huge bestseller and everybody loves it.

That's fine.

There are also as many people who can probably pull out a copy of the book where these mistakes were made and it ruined the whole thing.

It all depends on what you do with it so feel free to experiment and find what works best for you.

The most important thing is that you keep writing.

With love, 

B.K xo

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