Chapter One: Breaking Down the Novel
The first thing I want to begin with is, coincidentally, the start of the novel. There are so many of these that start with what not to do, so I’m going to start with what you should do. Most people know these by instinct, but for those who don’t….
Do:
1. Remember to mention your main characters name within the first half of the first page.
Now, this rule can be stretched a little if you’re going for mystery, and some people, the ones who are really good at what they do, can pull of putting a name in the latter half of the first chapter. But for those of you who aren’t, first half, just to be safe.
2. Remember to pace yourself when writing.
This is where a lot of authors run into issues with word counts (yes I’m talking about nanowrimo, or if you want to send to a certain publisher with a specific word count). One of the things that is important in a novel is “change”. That means your character must undergo some sort of development during the story. However, in order to do that you first need to establish what your character was like before. You cannot do this, if the thing that changes your mc occurs too early on. Remember, you've got a whole novel left to write, there's no reason to rush.
3. Choose an appropriate title
This is really simple. So simple i'm going to sum it up in one sentence. If I can guess what your plot is going to be by reading your title, you have a problem. Titles are perhaps more important than most people realize. They're what draw people in. I guess in retrospect, that's probably why, at least on this site, you get mediocre titles such as, Help! My boyfriend married my sister!!!!! (Yes i made that up). It's ridiculous, but you don't have to do much reading to figure out what the book is going to be about. Strive to be better than that, okay. You shouldn't have to resort to cheap tricks to get people to read your stories. Work at it. It might not come to you right away, but you'll get it eventually.
4. Make sure you have a hook
A hook is something that draws your readers. This is absoultely imperative because this is the point where someone is going to decide whether or not they're going to read your book. For the most part, you're only going to get one chance to reel them in, so make it count. This is one of the main reasons why some of worst writers on this site have millions of views-because they have good hooks. Tip* if you're unsure about whether or not your book has a hook, give the opening scene to a friend, tell them someone else wrote it (because you know how us writers like our anonymity). If they ask where's the rest, you have a hook, if not, go back and work on it. Caution: make sure you choose the right person, preferably someone who isn't extrememly picky. Otherwise your results will end up skewed.
5. Add Structure
This basically means make sure that your novel's opening chapter has a beginning, middle, and conclusion. You need to make sure that something is actually happening in your chapter. Off to the side i've included a picture of a climax/resolution chart (yes every chapter should have all of these things.) For our purposes, resolution will be changed to, resolve, as in, your chapter leaves off at a place where your main character is either going to do something that has consequences or effects lasting into the later chapters, or he or she leaves you with some sense of purpose. Remember to make sure something is actually happening. There have been so many times where i've read something that was 6 or 7 pages long, and the entire time, there's only one thing notable that happened. If the significant events in your first chapter number from 0-1,or if you cannot fill out the chart on the side, I'd recommend you pull out the red pen and start revising.
