A couple weeks ago I wrote a post in preparation for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), where I detailed how to start a novel off on the right foot. I promised that the next entry would come out in October, but the 28th of September is close enough.
The first few pages of your manuscript are vital! This is where readers will be introduced to your world, conflict and (most importantly) your characters!
Introduce Your Hero Immediately
This is a general rule. There are tons of great novels that don’t introduce their heroes in the first chapter.
However, I would suggest that if AT ALL possible, you start your novel with your hero being the focal point of chapter 1. Modern readers tend to want to know who they will be following for the next 300+ pages. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to meet a character who is cool, funny and unique in the first couple pages only to discover they’re barley in the story.
Don’t worry about giving us a complex mythology or history, just cut straight to our main character doing something unique and active (even if they are an introvert).
One exception: I have heard that many authors who write mysteries start with the murder/abduction taking place in the first few pages. They then introduce their main character in chapter 2. But the idea still holds: bring in your hero as close to the beginning of the story as possible.
Don’t Info Dump on Back Story.
In the first few pages of your novel we just need to know enough about your hero to:
- Understand their situation.
- Make them interesting/likeable (more on this in my next post).
That’s it, I swear.
We don’t need to know that they grew up in Ohio, moved to Idaho, moved back to Ohio, moved to New York and… blah blah blah.
If it’s vital that we know they moved around as a kid, that’s great, include a paragraph about that. If it’s important that they are a country mouse living in the big city, show us how they’re out of their depth. But we don’t need every minute detail about their back story. Keep information about their past short and sweet.
If you find that your rough draft is bursting with backstory, that’s absolutely fine. You’re discovering your hero as you write, but when you edit you should take this information and move details to the later sections of the story. This will:
- Increase Tension: Your hero will continue to surprise readers even in the middle of the story. (Something important even if you aren’t writing a thriller)
- Move the Plot Along: By only providing vital information at the beginning we can get the story moving andreach the really fun parts.
That’s it for Part II. In a couple weeks I’ll post Part III in which I’ll share how to connect your heroes to your readers.
