Pitchwars 101: The First Chapter

If you're anything like me, you stay on the fence about everything until the very last possible minute. This series of short, last minute posts will hopefully be helpful to anyone still unsure about the contest itself, the query, the first chapter, and the synopsis.

Check out the previous parts of the series:

Pitchwars 101: An Overview

Pitchwars 101: The Query

The First Chapter Checklist:

• Is your first line the best that it can be?
• What more, is your first line representative of the rest of the book? Do you establish your style from the start?
• Are you giving enough description of surroundings to ground your reader?
• Do you avoid over-describing and overwhelming the reader?
• Are you avoiding weak descriptors? Do you use cliched words/phrases? Do you use two average words to illustrate something when you could use one, vivid word?
• Are you introducing too many named/major characters at once? If so, avoid.
• Are you starting in a place that draws the reader in? 
• Don't interpret this as you must start with a chase/explosion/fight. This is cliche if it's not suited for your book. If your story is more character driven/quieter, then don't start with an explosion if it doesn't make sense to have an explosion! This is an extreme example, but hopefully you get what I mean.
• Is the length about the same as the length of your other chapters? If not (significantly longer/shorter), is there a reason for this, or could your first chapter actually be split into two chapters, or is it lacking?
• Do we get a good initial feel for your character's personality?
• Is this done through showing and not telling? As in, if your character is brave, have the first chapter involve her doing something brave instead of telling us outright. A lot of times, I find that writers use "voice" to mask straight up telling. Just because your character is hilarious and snarky and has a lot to say doesn't mean you can spoon-feed the reader a lot of disguised telling. We can tell!
• Is the ending representative? If it ends on a killer cliff-hanger, is that something that reappears throughout your book? If it ends on a more final note, is that the general style of your chapter endings?

As you can tell, I toss out the word "representative" a lot. This is because I've read a lot of first chapters. I've read a lot of first chapters, and then gone on to read more of the book. I've also written a lot of first chapters. And I know every writer is bombarded again and again with the reminder that your first chapter has to hook the reader.

This advice can result in a lot of amazing first chapters, but it results in a lot of "fake" first chapters other times (especially when it comes to contest chapters!). By this I mean that it's very obvious that the first chapter is trying to hook you, but if the first chapter is a promise of some sorts (of what the rest of the book is going to deliver), then the rest of the book must keep that promise. If not, the disappointment is crushing and ruins my enjoyment of the book. 

SO. Write an interesting first chapter, but above all, write a first chapter that is true to your book. 

Hope this was helpful! As always, if you have any questions, you can ask me on twitter. Stay tuned for the final post--the synopsis!