Whether you’ve been writing twenty years or two years, no author can deny that one of the scariest processes of writing a novel is beginning to craft the first chapter.
How many times have you put down a book because the first chapter struck you as terribly imaginative, too confusing, or flat out boring? I’ve been there as well! As the reader, we expect our author to paint us a beautiful and exciting picture of what’s to come as we take this journey through their creation. We’re thrown off by the large quantities of description and explanation that the author must desperately find a way to present in an interesting fashion.
Perspectives change when you become the writer. I often find myself plowing through the first few chapters of a novel that may not be holding my attention completely in the beginning. I think I’ve developed a sort of pity for these authors, as I know how hard it is to get everything that needs to be understood before starting the actual plot of the novel down in the pages and manage to keep the reader alert and interested. In most cases, once I get through these bits, the writing becomes exciting and beautiful as was meant. I’ve found it takes years and years of experience to perfect the art of weaving the needed information such as character description, past events, and setting description into the actual plot. Who seems to have it down pretty well? Oh, Stephen King, Lois Duncan, Dean Koontz… Not me.
After a week long victory dance over the finalization of my prologue, I slowly became aware of what I was expected to do next, and felt my internal creativity wheels freeze solid as the icy weather in fear. The first chapter. My first chapter. It’s been planned, outlined, and basically written out without the actual product. But now it’s time to buckle down and write it.
Dare I begin this challenging task that could make or break my novel completely? I’m petrified. Though my prologue has explained much of the past events that are needed, now I must present my first few characters to the reader in a way that gives them a lifelike and thorough description, but also keeps the plot moving. I’m nervous. I’m speechless. I’m scared!
I humbly ask for a few kind thoughts of yours to be with me in these next few weeks as I begin the first chapters of this novel. I’m going to need all the good vibes I can get! I can only hope that the observations that I’ve shared with you in the past few months will connect us in a way that can combine our energy and get me out of this alive! With that said, until next time—happy writing!
