First Chapter Responsibilities: What your story opening needs to achieve

Author: Sandy Vaile
Originally published on the Savvy Authors blog 20/06/20.

First chapters are POWERFUL

First chapters are POWERFUL. They can stop a shopper from casually flicking through the pages to see how the story ends and a publisher from tossing it in the slush pile bin. Readers are searching for a story beginning that grabs their attention, surprises them and makes them curious to the point of desperation to know what will happen next.
​
But how can you possibly do this in such a short space? In short, provide entertainment! And if you’ve maintained their interest to the end of the first chapter, then hopefully they’ll decide if it’s is worth investing their time and money to continue.

Read More