4 things that are missing from your first act

If something feels off, here's where to look

Your opening pages carry a lot of weight. If an agent or editor is intrigued by your query letter, you have very few pages to convince them the book is worth their investment.

If you:

a. got feedback from beta readers that the opening wasn’t clear or attention-grabbing

b. had your pages rejected

or c. simply feel like something is off

…there are four bases you want to make sure you’ve covered in the opening 25% of your manuscript.

Photo by Grigorii Shcheglov on Unsplash

1. An introduction to your main character — their voice and personality

Whether it’s a voice-y first line or a fumbling meet-cute, the opening scene of your story will benefit from a moment that gives readers great insight into your main character.

You probably know your main character inside and out; how they talk, how they make decisions, their strengths and their flaws. After all, you’ve completed a whole manuscript starring that MC, so it can be challenging to imagine your reader’s first impression.

This is where getting fresh eyes on your manuscript – whether that’s a beta reader, critique partner, or book coach – is gold.

You also have multiple tools at your disposal to evaluate whether you’ve introduced your character’s personality right up front. Some questions you can ask yourself as you plan your revision:

• Interiority: What is your character thinking in the first scene, and what does it tell us something specific about who they are?

• Dialogue: Does your character’s first line of dialogue sound like someone we’d recognize if we heard them again?

• Decision: Do they make a small choice? How do they react to something minor and what does that reveal about their character?

2. An introduction to your story’s ordinary world

Review your world-building and see if you’ve oriented the reader enough to the main character’s ordinary world that they can read on without being confused, but not too much that they’re flipping back pages to remember details.

I’d also recommend cutting most flashbacks or flash forwards in your early pages. For now, focus on grounding us in the main character’s present-day story. Once you (and eventually, the reader) are really grounded in story present, then you can play around with narrative timelines. But doing too much of this will create a knot to untangle in your next pass.

Think of this introductory section as the setting up the moment before everything changes. The key is to give readers just enough background information and just when they need it, usually a little bit before that information will come into play.

Ask yourself:

• What does your reader need to know before the incident that sets the plot in motion?

• Can you go through your opening pages and identify each of those points?

• Can you identify information that could be revealed later without causing confusion?

3. The moment that hooks your reader

It can be tempting to start your story with a huge, action-packed event. But that often backfires for a couple of reasons. The first is because often the “action-packed event” (particularly if this is a death or mortal peril) would mean more to the reader if they first cared about the main character. That’s where the hook comes in: a tension-filled scene that hooks the reader on the main character and makes them want to learn more.

A good hook should:

• Introduce the main character’s world in a tension-filled scene that demonstrates at least one of the challenges facing the character.

• Foreshadow the main antagonistic force and main plot that is coming.

• Establish the voice of the main character.

• Create sympathy for the main character.

In short, the hook establishes the character’s ordinary world in an extraordinary way so that the reader takes the bait…hook, line, and sinker.

Note of caution: many writers think they should open with the inciting incident to grab readers’ attention. Here’s my argument against that approach.

4. A moment (or several) of doubt and reluctance

If your hero feels like the adventure before her is going to be fun and is anxious to get started, you might not have enough tension to start your story.

Look at the the the false belief your character holds about themselves or the world that the story will eventually challenge — e.g., “I don’t need anyone” or “I’m not brave enough.” Have you clearly demonstrated this misbelief in action?

I talk more about connecting your internal and external arcs here.

These four elements are a great starting place for a revision pass if something feels off in your opening.

I’m going to be writing more about the magic that is revision in the coming months, especially as I’m revising my novel. Let me know if there are topics you want to talk about!