Hellooo everybody!
If you hear any jingle jangling, that is Butters. She has brought a toy and she's just chasing it
around the room, because why not. In case you missed the news Shut Up and Write the Book is
officially available for pre-order! If you wanna step-by-step guide for crafting your
novel from the idea phase, all the way to the professional edit, by golly, you're in luck.
You can currently pre-order in these formats. It will be available in all formats, and at all major
retailers eventually, it just takes a while to get through all the distribution networks,
and some are slower than others. I will keep you posted here on my channel with every update,
and new format, so stay tuned. But wait there's more. If you pre-order the ebook you are going
to get it for $2.99, which is 50% off! This sale is only for people who pre-order the book. So if
you wanna save 50%, order it now. But wait there's more, again. Every single person who pre-orders in
any format is eligible to receive a special gift from me as a thank you for your support. That
gift is an exclusive digital workbook you can use alongside Shut Up and Write the Book to help plan
your novel. If you need help with organizing your world building, plot structure, character
profiles, and more. This workbook has you covered, alongside some very wonderful encouragement from
Buttercup herself. All you have to do is send your proof of pre-order to this email address,
and bam, you got your workbook. In honor of this pre-order, I thought I'd cover one of your most
requested topics. Today I'm breaking down the ten worst ways to start your book. Chapter One,
particularly its opening scene, page, and sentence is extremely important. You wanna
make sure you leave your readers with a positive impression, and none of these points do that.
I've got a whole chapter devoted to writing your first chapter in Shut Up and Write the Book. But
today we are taking a deep dive into specifically writing that opening scene in chapter one, aka,
the stuff that most of us fuck up. This list covers the ten worst openers, why they're so
terrible, how you can work around them, and even some exceptions to the rule. If you've
made some of these mistakes, don't beat yourself up. We've all been there. Hell, I've made a couple
of these mistakes, way back in yesteryear. Fortunately, after watching this video,
you will be fully prepared to open your book without frustrating your readers. Let's get to it.
(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
Don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays, and if
you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell. You definitely want to ring the bell,
that way you can get all of my updates about Shut Up and Write the Book. The paperback is
coming really soon. Now it's time to break down the ten worst ways to open the first chapter of
your novel. Some of these points are cliches, some are outdated structural methods, and some
are just bad writing. The point is none of ‘em are good and you should probably avoid them.
Number One (1): Telling. Telling is when you simply state facts or opinions to the reader.
For example: He was handsome, she was loving, they were happy together. There's a time and
place for telling, but it certainly doesn't belong in the opener. And there's a good reason for that.
It's boring. The opening paragraph and page are designed to entice the reader, and a long
segment of telling will do the exact opposite. It comes across as amateur because typically
the only books that open with telling are fairy tales, fables, and children's books. For example:
Once upon a time there was a pretty princess in a magical kingdom. Because of this, it's definitely
preferred to open with showing. This is when you illustrate facts and opinion by creating visuals
utilizing your readers senses and capitalizing on dialogue. Now there is an exception to the rule
and that's when you use a brief line of telling to grab the reader's attention. For example, say
your opening line is ‘Jenna has always been kind of a bitch.’ I am clearly telling the reader that
Jenna is a bitch rather than showing her bitchy behavior. However, because this light is brief,
and it packs a punch, it works as an opener. So long as the content that follows is show.
Number Two (2): Backstory. There are some genres were a little bit of historical
exposition is necessary. Fantasy and sci-fi are the most obvious examples, but these exposition
bits should be brief and they should absolutely not be the opening page of your first chapter.
I know you can think of some famous authors who have done this in their work, but they've been
dead for a hundred years, and the literary industry has changed. A backstory info dump
is boring at the start of the novel. Plus it's telling your readers that you may not be starting
the novel in the right place. If you absolutely need a history lesson at the start of the novel,
perhaps your story should begin in the past. Additionally, backstory is usually written as a
tell rather than a show which, as we already covered, is the worst. To avoid this issue
share the history as it becomes relevant, not a page sooner. And if readers absolutely must
know the history on the very first page, then you're starting the book in the wrong place.
On a related note, Number Three (3): World building. You know what’s a tedious way to
start a book? With geography. Setting the scene is one thing, you may need a sentence or two to
ground the reader in the location, but this should be brief and probably not the opening
line. Opening a world building info dump reads this purely self indulgent because it serves
little benefit to the reader. They don't need to know about an entire planet's climate. They only
need to know about the here and now. You're putting your readers to sleep for the sake of
showing off all the research you did before writing. No one cares. Like the last point
the solution is simple, describe the world as it becomes relevant. If they enter a castle,
describe its architecture then. If they're navigating a forest. That's when you
describe the foliage. But never before then, and certainly not as the opener.
Number Four (4): The mirror description. The mirror description is when at the start of
the novel the main character gazes into a mirror, and the narrative describes what they are seeing,
aka their physical description. It pains me to list this trope because honestly,
I like it. Sue me. The biggest complaint about this trope is that it's not realistic.
Who even looks into a mirror and assesses their appearance? Me! I do that. All the time. Am I
the only one looking into a mirror and doing this?
Regardless of this difference of opinion, one thing is inarguable: the mirror description
is a cliche. Which means it’s been overused to the point where readers find it trite and
predictable. Because of this, it's not wise to open with a mirror description. Instead, find
another way to describe the character's physical appearance. A great method is to compare their
appearance to another character's appearance, that way you kill two birds with one stone.
Number Five (5): Another perspective. When readers start your first chapter, they are expecting to
follow your main character, full stop. That means if you open with a different character,
say a character from yesterday or or the villain, they are going to be confused and
disappointed. They are reading this chapter expecting to get invested in the character,
and then if the character perspective changes in chapter two, they are going to feel like
you just did a bait and switch. It's not nice. Because of this it's vital that you
write your first chapter from the main character's perspective. If you have multiple main characters,
that's even easier. Just pick one or two of them, and write from their perspective. Problems
solved! “But Jennaaa! I really need to start my book from someone else's perspective.” Then it
sounds like you've got a prologue. A prologue is an introductory section, before the first chapter,
and it's usually there to showcase someone else's perspective. Often it'll be written from the
villain's perspective, the main character's perspective when they were years younger,
or someone from the past’s perspective who was long dead. If you've written any
of these perspectives, they are perfect for a prologue, but they are not fit for chapter one.
Number Six (6): Zillions of characters. A lot of writers get really excited when they write their
first chapter. They want to introduce all of the amazing characters they've created to the reader.
Dial it back ten notches. It's confusing to open a book and be immediately bombarded by tons of names
and physical descriptions. You're not exciting the reader, you're overwhelming them. As we already
covered, you must introduce the main character in the first chapter, but outside of them,
you should only introduce those who are necessary. If you're struggling with this,
comb through your first chapter, take a look at every character introduced and ask yourself:
are they necessary to this chapter or this scene? Maybe they're present in the scene,
but they don't do much, or say much, or contribute much of anything. If that's the case,
they can be present but allow them to remain in the background, don't name and describe them. In
the first chapter of The Savior’s Sister, my main character Leila, attends a senate meeting. There
are about ten people in that meeting, and that's a lot of people to describe at once. Instead,
I only introduced the senators who had lengthy speaking roles, and that came to
about three dudes. I saved the other senators for later chapters once they became relevant.
Number Seven (7): It was all a dream. Readers get super pissed when a book
opens with a dream because it's often done in a lazy manner. The dream usually shows
a trauma or premonition of a future event. The character wakes up dazed and confused,
and then they go about their day. After that dreams are never again utilized. It was a
one and done for the sake of hooking the reader. Except the reader won't be hooked,
they'll feel cheated. You opened with something potentially interesting, and then you sucked us
back into a world of boring awakeness. There's also a lack of realism here. PTSD nightmares
are definitely a thing, but if that's what your character is dealing with, they are
definitely going to have more than one. As for premonition dreams, those are extremely rare,
and if your character is having them they should probably thinking: what the fuck?
The main exception to this rule is if dreams are a recurring theme in your plot. There are many
books that revolve around dreams or nightmares, but the key here is they reoccur throughout
the entire novel. If that's the case, opening with a dream should be okay, but tread lightly.
Number Eight (8): The trihard opener. There are quite a few ways you could create a trihard
opener. Your first sentence is a mile long, crammed with as many big exciting words as you
can think of. Your opening paragraph is a flowery mess of purple prose you're hoping will impress
the reader. Your first line is a ridiculous metaphor comparing the sunset to cat vomit. Your
first scene is graphically sexual or gory despite the fact that sex and gore have no relevance to
your story at all. These are all trihard openers, where the author is trying so hard to hook the
reader they actually ended up pushing them away. These openers come off as desperate. Readers can
immediately tell what the author is trying to do because nothing feels natural or organic.
It feels forced. Yes, it's important to open with a bang, but you can do this without betraying the
tone of your story, or using every word in this in the (incoherent mumbling) in the
(incoherent mumbling) thesaurus. What are words. Remember, sometimes less is more.
Number Nine (9): The morning routine. The alarm clock rings, your character wakes up, yawns,
gets out of bed, and starts getting ready. They're brushing their teeth,
which is probably when the mirror description shows up, and they head downstairs for
breakfast. Usually a mom or wife has made the breakfast, or they make it themselves. Wow,
wasn't that mundane. Morning routines are boring because there's a little variety to them. We all
know how alarm clocks work. This opener has also been overdone, which makes it a common cliche,
but the biggest issue with this opener is that it's likely not where the story begins. What are
the odds that waking up in the morning has any relevance to the plot or the inciting
incident? The best way to avoid this issue is to find your main character's dilemma,
and start there. If their dilemma is memory loss after waking up from a coma, then yeah,
waking up is probably a good place to start. But I'm gonna wager that's not what your book is
about. In The Savior's Champion, Tobias’ dilemma is that his family is struggling financially.
Thus I start the story with him leaving work and getting paid. Readers are instantly introduced
to the fact that he is desperate for cash, and in the very next scene, they get to see why.
And Number Ten (10): Beginning after the inciting incident. A lot of writers claim that their story
begins after the inciting incident, to which I say, are you sure? Either you're starting your
novel way too late, or maybe you don't know what the inciting incident is. The inciting incident
is the moment your main character is propelled into action, not the moment action of any kind
begins. Say your book revolves around an ancient curse created thousands of years before your story
starts. Yes, that's a big deal. But if your main character wasn't around, it's not the inciting
incident. However, if in your novel, the main character is suddenly afflicted with a curse,
that right there is the inciting incident. See the difference? In The Savior's Champion,
The sovereigns tournament has been around for centuries. But the inciting incident isn't the
onset of the very first tournament. The inciting incident is when Tobias is forced to enter his
tournament in chapter two. I'm trying to hammer this home because it's a widespread issue,
and nine times out of ten the author didn't actually start their story after the inciting
incident. They just don't understand what the inciting incident is. You're confused,
and that's okay. Let me show you the way. But if after these examples, you are still
certain that you have started your book after the inciting incident, guess what my friend,
you got a whole lot of rewriting to do because that shit ain't gonna work.
So that's what I got for you today. Shut Up and Write the Book is officially available
for pre-order and everyone pre-orders is eligible to receive a free digital workbook. All you have
to do is submit your proof of purchase to this email address, and the digital workbook will be
sent straight to you. On top of that, you can get the Shut Up and Write the Book ebook for 50% off,
but the sale is only eligible to people who pre-order, so get on it today. Don't forget
to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays, and if you wanna be alerted as
SOON as I upload, ring that bell. And be sure to follow me on social media. I'm on Instagram,
TickTok, BookBub and Facebook. And of course you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
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