#182: 5 Ways To Nail Your First Chapter

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1+ y ago 32:15

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Your first chapter matters.
It's what binds readers to your story. It makes them care. And when they care, they can't help but keep reading.
There's a lot riding on your first chapter. So you want to get this right.
Bore them with too much exposition, long forays into backstory, too many characters and superfluous details, and your reader will grow bored, overwhelmed, and will stop reading.
In this episode, I'm sharing 5 ways to nail your first chapter.
We'll cover how to:

Resist the urge to tell readers too much too soon
Write exposition that doesn't read like exposition
Choose which characters to introduce, who to omit, and who to save for later
How and when to use backstory and where to place it
Shape your first chapter
Embed conflict and narrative tension right from the start

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