The first chapter problem

[Aurimaz]

Good morning, fellow writers!
And readers!
And... the other ones, whoever they are.

After spending a couple of long weeks here and flipping through several dozen novellas, I've noticed a strange... local trend that I'd like to discuss.
Have you heard the saying that 'the first chapter is the most important'?
Yeah, me neither.
But Google and other experienced writers say that's exactly the case. And I'm reluctantly inclined to agree with that opinion.

But when I look at the first chapters on this site, what do I see?
Most often, authors rush to get past the introduction as quickly as possible, justifying it by 'meh, readers will be hooked at chapter 3, 7, or 12 anyway.'
So I'm left with this kind of opening:


The main character is doing something. He's bored with his life, with his job, and literally everything. He wants to lie down and sleep. Or get to another world as quickly as possible, where he'll be given a 'system', powers, cheats, and other RPG game add-ons.
Oh, look! An isekai truck-kun is incoming! Let's jump before it quick!
BOOM. Meets some god, sweet-talks him.
BOOM - another world, powers, inventories and other shit. Let's gooooo~!
{...}


Almost every single time, a rushed affair like that.

I'd think - what's the big deal? Everyone does it this way, so maybe I really should read until chapter 3, 7, or 12, and it'll get more interesting there?
But then I think: if the first chapter is so unimportant to the author... what ELSE is unimportant to him? Characters? The story content? Will he even finish this story at all?

So many doubts - and all because of such a dismissive introduction.
Personally, I always trust the first impression. They rarely lie - both about the author and about his work.

What do you think? Is that first chapter important or not?

 

[Zenftiy]

VERY VERY IMPORTANT. Not just with first chapter, you should make your summary more interesting too. Because with the popularity of shorts video like nowdays, our attention span is veryconcerning.

Like, if you cannot hooked your reader with the first word of your summary, you will die ngl

 

[Fallen_Void]

Yes, especially when the casual readers are chronically online like us, attention span is like a treasure these days most people don't have it. We need to create the first chapter as interesting as possible (I have suffered from not doing it).

 

[Tempokai]

Opening chapters are important. The opening chapter is a handshake—the first impression after the synopsis—where the reader sees you as an author, evaluating the competency of the piece itself and whether it’s worth their time or not.

Stories, when well written, often have an unskippable sequence that I call “context, character, content.” This sequence is how humans perceive information, so it is a must for storytellers who want to persuade people to continue reading past Chapter 1.

Context is context, duh. Your reader wants to know three important things: where it is happening, to whom it is happening, and why it matters that it is happening right now—location, agents, and exigence. People need to know why it matters before they care about the plot. Sure, your synopsis has shown a sliver of it, where you wrote something to entice the crowd to click “read,” and this will be judged against the first chapters. Let’s say your story is a comedy harem set in a supernatural high school, but instead you show a grimdark scenario—no women in sight, the dude getting NTR’d for no reason—for three chapters. You have broken expectations and the contractual trust between you and the reader that you will deliver the goods you promised in the synopsis.

After establishing the context, character comes next. By “character,” I mean your MC and Co., your authorial style, and the tone. In other words, you must make the characters likable or hateable enough that readers want to see them suffer, show that the author can really write well, and ensure that this “writing well” is consistent enough for the story to not feel tone-deaf according to the context established. If you fail to establish that, readers will drop it silently at different times, because this depletes their trust slowly instead of instantly, unlike a failure of context.

When you have a coherent world (context) and coherent characters, content finally comes last. This is the actual plot, where you do things that make sense according to the world you’ve built—in other words, the internal logic of your world. You can do anything here, and you probably will not lose readers unless it’s boring as hell. No one wants to read about an MC going to the same dungeon for three chapters straight unless new stuff is happening. This is where your usual save-the-cat moments, hero’s journeys, and kishotenketsus happen. Don’t violate internal logic and don’t make it boring, and you’ll persuade the reader to read further.

This sequence is used in every chapter. The first chapter is where you establish it fully, and then that first chapter becomes the context for the second chapter, allowing you to focus only on the character and the content to keep the reader reading. In the longer term, context is your webnovel—what happened before—and it is your job as a storyteller to keep expanding it and making it coherent enough to sustain the illusion of fullness beyond the pages. You need to ignite the imagination of the reader, make them feel your world in their way, and make them know it in their way.

Every reader wants to believe in the world they want to read. Your job is to give that belief. You need to justify it, make it internally true within the words, and make the reader want to keep on reading. This is why the opening chapters are important: they create the doorway to that belief.

Edit: grammar

 

[Our_Lady_in_Twilight]

I'm tempted to say this is a false dilemma. An opening chapter that is more mundane doesn't mean it can't have a lot of dramatic tension. A skilled writer can have the guy's life feel like an awful inescapable prison; if the office line-manager is irredemably repulsive, the failing relationship suitably tragic or the sense of existential despair appropriately crushing, you can not only hook the reader but also make it much more cathartic when the isekai twist thing happens.

That is a perfect world, I admit. In many cases, as you say, people will probably skim-read it all anyway until the chap gets powered-up.

 

[Aurimaz]

An opening chapter that is more mundane doesn't mean it can't have a lot of dramatic tension.

I'm not against 'mundane'. Hell, I myself do cliche scenes quite often. Even in intro chapters.
I'm against thinking that some part of your novel can be executed dismissively, just to get to the 'good part'.
Perhaps I'm just a sad perfectionist...

 

[Forcalor]

Most of my current work is a slow-building thriller that opens with something exciting, then leaves the reader in the dark for a little bit, then slaps in an action scene, then draws out suspense, and so on and on... From my experience most people bail on 15k chapter that attempts to more thoroughly establish setting and stakes, and that's fine. Not everyone have time to read that character work, and I guess in a better world I'd flesh it out, cut into more digestible chunks, and spice it up with more events... Maybe I'll rewrite it someday, I suppose.

 

[Our_Lady_in_Twilight]

I'm against thinking that some part of your novel can be executed dismissively, just to get to the 'good part'.

Yeah I mean I admit in reality people would probably skim through it, sadly. I think we basically agree.

 

[Tyranomaster]

I wrote up a whole guide on getting readers as a fishing analogy. There are quite a few things more important than the first chapter even, though it is very important. Everything that a potential reader could choose to drop your story at is a reason they will. Bad cover, bad title, bad description, etc.

The only peopls who can get away with a bad first chapter or a slow start are authors with enough name recognition already.

 

[Placeholder]

Modern readers are sophisticated enough you can start en media res with an action scene or a non physical conflict/hurdle, and trickle enough context to them, and they'll be fine.

Also, they've waded through piles of mediocre openings to mediocre stories to get to your story. They don't need a prologue or enrollment scene. If the first two chapters are talking heads and lecturing, that's not a good sign.

The rules are different for film and printed work, where the reader has committed by buying it or is entranced by moving images.

> A skilled writer can have the guy's life feel like an awful inescapable prison; if the office line-manager is irredemably repulsive, the failing relationship suitably tragic or the sense of existential despair appropriately crushing, you can not only hook the reader but also make it much more cathartic when the isekai twist thing happens.

So there's a boring bit that won't matter for the plot or the character's actions, why does the readers have to read it, or remember it?

Unless the character is doing something in that first chapter, ax it.

 

[TheEvilDuckLord]

Modern readers are sophisticated enough you can start en media res with an action scene or a non physical conflict/hurdle, and trickle enough context to them, and they'll be fine.

Also, they've waded through piles of mediocre openings to mediocre stories to get to your story. They don't need a prologue or enrollment scene. If the first two chapters are talking heads and lecturing, that's not a good sign.

The rules are different for film and printed work, where the reader has committed by buying it or is entranced by moving images.

> A skilled writer can have the guy's life feel like an awful inescapable prison; if the office line-manager is irredemably repulsive, the failing relationship suitably tragic or the sense of existential despair appropriately crushing, you can not only hook the reader but also make it much more cathartic when the isekai twist thing happens.

So there's a boring bit that won't matter for the plot or the character's actions, why does the readers have to read it, or remember it?

Unless the character is doing something in that first chapter, ax it.

I disagree as a reader, stories that just go straight into the action can work, but when you want character development, having an understanding of how the character starts isn't a bad thing. The chapters where "nothing" happens, make the chapters when thing do happen, way more interesting. It also makes you more immersed in the story. Stories that go in medias res, I find often falls into the trap of always having to have "something" happening, and then it feels like a slog. You get no time to appreciate the characters development, and become tired of the story, especially for longer stories.

And whether the "nothing happens" chapters feels boring or not, depends on how well it's written.

 

[tinymikes]

This site has, and is mostly comprised of, amateur writers. Myself included. Why wouldn't they write a poor first chapter? It's likely kind of iffy all the way through. They started with an idea and are trying to get to the part that interests them the most as quickly as possible. I do my best to fight that instinct, but when you're doing this for free there is only so much pain I'm willing to go through. Many have the same thought and are trying to copy what others have done so they don't have to do the hard work of setting it up which may stop them from ever trying to write the story in the first place.

I would imagine most of the stories on this site don't get finished, so that is a worry about any story you pick up here that isn't already complete.

Everything separates good authors from the bad or mediocre authors. That includes the beginning. Most people reading on this site, luckily, knows they're getting themselves into stories written in non-writer's free time and knows they'll have to put up with poor writing in most of the works so the first chapter just has to be just good enough that everyone will give the rest a chance. You just need to set up the world to be enticing or have the character's voice be interesting or the main character feels like the reader in some sense and they could get lost in their actions. Which is really common goal for the Isekai stories.

 

[Ai-chan]

This is what is called 'web novel illness'. Basically, you make your stories run on what is trending and not what is exciting. That's why you often see the same kind of stories published at around the same time period. The problem with these stories is that the author has an idea, but in the effort to 'chase trends', they take shortcuts. The shortcut being not investing in their stories and depending entirely on the readers already knowing the setting and accepting it would have the basic premise and therefore be willing to wait a few more chapters for it to 'get good'.

Ai-chan spoke about this a lot in NUF. In traditional publishing, you would hook your readers from the first chapter with the coming chapters continuing to carry the tone. In webnovels, you give the readers a promise in the form of a short synopsis. It's even worse in xianxia, with those arguing with Ai-chan saying that you should keep reading, because it will get good after 20 chapters.

Ai-chan was like "Dude, if you need to wait 20 chapters for it to 'get good', then it's not a good story!" Ain't nobody got time fo' dat! Except for those who consume xianxia like it's life-giving water, of course!

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The first chapter cannot drive away readers so should have solid grammar and hints at what the story will be like without being ... something that will drive potential readers away.
If you can interest a reader enough to keep going, you then have two - maybe four but usually two - more chances to win and keep their attention (this also holds true with television series and other media - the 1/3 rule. 1 to generate initial interest, two more to "sell" the concept).
The cover and synopsis should be viewed as part of the first chapter in this context because they are where some people will be driven away and a very few drawn in.

 

[Tyranomaster]

I disagree as a reader, stories that just go straight into the action can work, but when you want character development, having an understanding of how the character starts isn't a bad thing. The chapters where "nothing" happens, make the chapters when thing do happen, way more interesting. It also makes you more immersed in the story. Stories that go in medias res, I find often falls into the trap of always having to have "something" happening, and then it feels like a slog. You get no time to appreciate the characters development, and become tired of the story, especially for longer stories.

And whether the "nothing happens" chapters feels boring or not, depends on how well it's written.

I didn't say that all readers experience this.

There is a plague of people who assume that every single person believes and acts the same as them. We're dealing with humans in large numbers, so understanding the group behavior is more important than anecdotes. The fact of the matter simply is that you limit your potential audience with every deviation from the lowest common denominator.

I'm not saying it is wrong to do so, just that it is a fact. Stories that only cater to the lowest common denominator tend to have wider reach, but may be somewhat bland. I personally don't like a lot of the things that "must be done" to reach the widest audience. It's just important to know how you're handicapping yourself when do you so.

Sometimes it's helpful to envision writing in the following manner: Before you start writing, your potential audience is represented by every single reader in the world. The perfect book has yet to be written. The second you choose websites to publish on, it goes down. You pick a title? It goes down. Picture? Down. Every choice, every single one no matter how well chosen, limits the prospective audience. You have to make some of these choices, they're not optional. The only thing you get to choose is your audience with the decision you make. That's just before you start writing and the quality of the writing itself. No decision "regains" audience. Each choice is a filter. Once someone is gone, they have thousands of other books that didn't make them feel a certain way. Just because one filter doesn't stop one person, doesn't mean it doesn't stop others.

Actually getting people to the point where the filters even apply to them requires marketing, and is a different matter. In the matter of hypothetical audience though, you can envision every choice as a hard filter. Sometimes some readers will need two or more filters to fail before they quit, people are unique. Nevertheless, this form of statistical analysis gives you a good basis for understanding why it is important to do your best with things like title and covers and first chapters, as they're earlier filters in the system. If someone "only reads stories with good covers", then it doesn't matter how good your first chapter is. How many people is that? 0.5% of your potential readership? Would you drop 1 in 200 readers over that? Sometimes yes. You can imagine though, that the filter for "no cover" is probably higher than 5% or 1 in 20.

The matter is of compounding losses. It's not a precise science, but it works not only as a motivator, but as a guide for making choices. For instance, I used swearing in my first chapters. If I get around to a rewrite, I'm removing it. It doesn't add much, but it definitely filters out a subset of people.

 

[Aurimaz]

but when you're doing this for free there is only so much pain I'm willing to go through

So, you're saying that the whole 'being a writer' thing is just money and no pleasure for you?

I'd say you picked the wrong hobby, pal.
Most writers do it for free for 3 main reasons:
1. To become a better writer. For that, you need to practice - a LOT.
2. To gather readers and make your name famous.
3. Because they simply like the process.

Personally, I like telling stories, money or no money.

 

[ChrisLensman]

The first chapter is by far the most important part. There's too many options, even on just this site, to waste your time on a story that might get good fifteen chapters in. Unfortunately a lot of people are too eager to get their story out there to put the effort into Chapter 1.

In game design there's a rule of thumb that you should design your first chapter last, so that all the experiences you gained while designing the rest of the game can go into the one part of the game that every player is guaranteed to see. I don't think writing is quite as strict as this but you should have written a bunch, planned out a bunch more and redone your first chapter one to twelve times before you hit that 'Publish' button.

I myself have stories sitting on my computer where the first chapter reads as "generic isekai intro" but I won't publish them until I find a way to get around that problem.

Of course the easiest way to get around this problem is by simply not writing hackneyed isekai in the first place. There's a thousand ways to write a fantasy story without having to yoink the protagonist out of another world first. But hey, some people really like isekai.

The second easiest way is to start in medias res, show the story after the bumpy beginning and then flesh it out later, possibly in flashback dreams.

Or you do that thing that Tamryn Tamer did in Herald of Shalia, where the story starts mid-goddess dialogue, having skipped over the part where the protagonist got spirited to another world, and only fills in the blanks much, much later as part of a major twist.

 

[CheertheSecond]

Good morning, fellow writers!
And readers!
And... the other ones, whoever they are.

After spending a couple of long weeks here and flipping through several dozen novellas, I've noticed a strange... local trend that I'd like to discuss.
Have you heard the saying that 'the first chapter is the most important'?
Yeah, me neither.
But Google and other experienced writers say that's exactly the case. And I'm reluctantly inclined to agree with that opinion.

But when I look at the first chapters on this site, what do I see?
Most often, authors rush to get past the introduction as quickly as possible, justifying it by 'meh, readers will be hooked at chapter 3, 7, or 12 anyway.'
So I'm left with this kind of opening:


The main character is doing something. He's bored with his life, with his job, and literally everything. He wants to lie down and sleep. Or get to another world as quickly as possible, where he'll be given a 'system', powers, cheats, and other RPG game add-ons.
Oh, look! An isekai truck-kun is incoming! Let's jump before it quick!
BOOM. Meets some god, sweet-talks him.
BOOM - another world, powers, inventories and other shit. Let's gooooo~!
{...}


Almost every single time, a rushed affair like that.

I'd think - what's the big deal? Everyone does it this way, so maybe I really should read until chapter 3, 7, or 12, and it'll get more interesting there?
But then I think: if the first chapter is so unimportant to the author... what ELSE is unimportant to him? Characters? The story content? Will he even finish this story at all?

So many doubts - and all because of such a dismissive introduction.
Personally, I always trust the first impression. They rarely lie - both about the author and about his work.

What do you think? Is that first chapter important or not?

I don't think you phrased it correctly.

The 1st chapter is important so that's why you need to get into the main topic asap and not dawdling around like you don't know what your novel will be.

The first chapter should explain your title or at least lead people into the reason for the naming.


It is so crucial as a chapter and there are too many things you need to talk about in this one single chapter so you need to be into-the-point and concise about your delivery while displaying the style of your writing.

If there is any taboo that can be avoided in writing, I will say that your title, your summary, your introduction, your prologue (if there is even one) and the title of your chapters should never repeat each other. They should serve their own function and giving the readers info they requires. This way you will save everyone's time and not downplay the rereading value of your piece.



First you give a title.

Second your summary should tell about the premise of your novel. What the heck is it about?

Third the chapter provides the account for the start of the journey into understanding the title and playing right into the theme and story that the summary was mentioning.

The name of the chapters should give a concise, meaningful and relevant description of the major event of the chapter. I saw many just put random line in their chapter as the chapter title. If your novel has around 500-800 words per chapter and there are 700+ chapter and that people reading it will never reread again, then sure feel free to do this. Why? Because there is no value in understanding the chapter, it's just a bundle of words for those without time to read. For genuinely good novels, people will reread it and they use the chapter title to bookmark when an event happens.


We are in the age of information where everyone has a limited amount of time to digest a tremendous amount of info. Your novels will have to cater to this requirement. There is a reason why novels like those old martial arts Chinese novels failed to garner interest of large group of audiences these days. They were written in a way of not using and respecting audiences' concentration so it isn't a surprise many modern readers found it uninteresting. Bantering around is only good when the enjoyment style of the audiences is into exploring flowery wordings and sentencing and/or if they are heavily invested in your world building. Try the latest volume of Overlord the light novel and you will understand what I mean by bantering. It almost became a running gag at this point that I can tell the novel origin just by how much they waste my time just to delivery their meager amount of info.

 

[tinymikes]

So, you're saying that the whole 'being a writer' thing is just money and no pleasure for you?

I'd say you picked the wrong hobby, pal.
Most writers do it for free for 3 main reasons:
1. To become a better writer. For that, you need to practice - a LOT.
2. To gather readers and make your name famous.
3. Because they simply like the process.

Personally, I like telling stories, money or no money.

I make no money from this and don't plan to. I get pleasure from telling the story and there are some parts of telling the story that I don't enjoy and will work on less.
Very strange that you take a sentence that mentions writing a story for free and assume I'm all about making money. Kind of rude to make that poor of an assumption.

 

[Aurimaz]

I make no money from this and don't plan to. I get pleasure from telling the story and there are some parts of telling the story that I don't enjoy and will work on less.
Very strange that you take a sentence that mentions writing a story for free and assume I'm all about making money. Kind of rude to make that poor of an assumption.

Alright. I'll rephrase:
So, you're saying that if you're doing it for free, you give less respect to your work and your readers?
How will this approach help you to increase your audience?