First chapter of your book or novel urges the readers to jump into your world of words and ideas, filled with the most catchy and alluring sentences.
Some authors opt to write prologue before starting the first chapter to hook up the audiences and spark the interest or curiosity. However, there is no strict rule to add this, as it is commonly used in some specific genres like thrillers and high or epic fantasy novels.
Different writers have different strategies to pin down the sequence in their opening chapter, depending on the genre and their writing style. Here, I am sharing some key suggestions for the beginners and the writers struggling to refine their opening chapter to perfection.
Create the mood and atmosphere
One of the most crucial things to consider when writing the opening chapter is to create a substantial mood or atmosphere according to the genre of your book. It will harmonize the readers’ expectations and mood with your writing style.
It also helps grasping the audiences and let them know in the start about the value scale of the story, such as action, adventour, romance, morality, thriller, and many others.
There are a number of tones, depending on your story, such as a darker and gothic tone for a mysterious novel and humorous, cheerful, and lighthearted tone for rom-com novels.
Give details of your setting to understand where we are
Offering a slight insight to your setting to deliver the idea of where we are is really a master trick to make the opening chapter more alluring and add a sense of immediacy.
It will enrich the story by giving the hint of where the story is happening, immersing the audience into the plot and aligning them with upcoming twists and turns.
Showcase the protagonists and antagonists to identify who we are
Introduce as many of the main characters as you can, so that the readers get the chance to know them in the start and get along with them without any struggle in the later chapters.
The strategy of identifying who we are at the start of the story to reveal protagonists and antagonists and their initial traits will enhance the reader's proficiency to engage well in the story, making characters interesting enough for the reader to keep turning the pages to the next chapter.
Picking the best narrative perspective (POV)
Opting for an ideal POV (point of view) or narrative perspective is a significant approach for a striking opening chapter.
For instance, first-person narrative creates a deep connection between the reader and the lead voices where the story goes with the narrator using words “I” and “We”.
On the other hand, a third-person narrative uses the words “He”, “She”, and “They”, building intensity, suspense, and tension in the plot by highlighting some backstories or mysteries.
Introduce the inciting incident or the major conflict (Disruption)
The intriguing problems and questions about the main characters or the inner turmoil or conflicts of main voices will add spice to the story, agitating curiosity in readers.
An inciting incident or a conflict between the main leads, either by a disagreement, heated statement, or physical confrontation, is the disruption to set the major events to anticipate some unexpected challenges and changes in next chapters.
To wrap things up, I recommend you to read the well-written and best-selling books of famous writers to get more ideas about how to make the opening chapter more captivating and what other things you can add