Image ID: Around a dozen tall stacks of paper fill the entire frame.
Querying is tough. It’s disheartening to spend years working on a manuscript only to have it dismissed by an agent who never gets past the first chapter, no matter how “good” the rest of the book could be.
But agents shouldn’t have to read past the first chapter to get invested in a story.
I’m often asked if writers should send their first chapter or their “best” chapter with a query to agents or editors. This question always brings me up short. Shouldn’t your first chapter be as good as all the rest of the chapters?
Writers sometimes believe that later chapters are “stronger” because the stakes are higher and there’s greater tension. They say, “But my climax is the most exciting event!”
Of course it is! The climax better be the most exciting event, otherwise it’s not a climax. But that doesn’t mean that everything leading up to it isn’t engaging too, just in a different way.
Before reaching the climax, readers have to care about the characters, be drawn in by the plot, and love the author’s voice. All of those things are what agents look for in the opening chapters of a manuscript.
They don’t expect a first chapter to be the most exciting, because that’s not the role of a first chapter. If the first chapter was the most exciting, reading a manuscript would be all downhill from there, rather than ramping up with rising action.
If a writer tells me the first couple chapters aren’t that engaging and that things really get going by, say, chapter three, my first instinct is that the manuscript actually starts at chapter three. Oftentimes, those first two chapters are what we’d call exposition or backstory.
What’s the difference between exposition and backstory? I’m so glad you asked.
Here’s how I use the two terms: Exposition is background information that readers need to know to understand the story. Backstory is information that writers need to understand to build complex characters with clear motivations.
In other words, exposition is necessary information for the reader, and backstory is information the writer uses but doesn’t include in the work.
The first thing a writer needs to ascertain about their opening chapters is how much of the information presented is too much exposition or too much backstory rather than active scenes to engage the reader.
Once it’s clear what readers need to know (exposition) and what the author needs to understand (backstory), cut the pages anyway.
“But wait!” you say. “I thought exposition was necessary information!”
It is. But that doesn’t mean readers need it all at once or right at the beginning. Try this instead. Identify what in those opening chapters is necessary for the reader. Highlight that information or put it into a separate document.
Then cut the opening chapter(s) until the point where the manuscript takes off. That’s your new starting place.
Then, as you move forward, when you identify a place where the reader needs the exposition, sprinkle that information in.
Don’t do it in a long expositional paragraph or “info dump.” Instead, add the bare minimum through action, dialogue between other characters, or internal thoughts by the viewpoint character, letting that information come in as naturally as possible.
For example, rather than an entire chapter devoted to telling readers about a character’s divorce, consider this instead:
Jane walked into the bakery to discover her ex-husband and his new girlfriend standing at the counter. The girlfriend looked about twenty, and Jane wondered if she could legally buy a cocktail at one of the many restaurants that she and Robert used to frequent.
Robert looked startled when his gaze landed on Jane’s face. “Nice to see you.” It was clear from his body language that he didn’t mean it.
Jane turned on her heel and walked out. The last thing she wanted to do was exchange pleasant chitchat with the person who broke her heart and the woman who helped him do it.
With these few short lines I have shown the reader that Jane went through an ugly divorce because her husband started up with a younger woman. That’s all readers need to know in the moment of this scene.
That’s what we call exposition, and it’s likely far more engaging than getting an entire chapter that discusses the divorce. As a writer, I might want to know more about the divorce, but the reader never needs to know as much as the author does about events that take place before the manuscript starts.
Further, we feel empathy for Jane because we have all likely experienced that moment of running into an ex when we weren’t expecting it, only to find the wound still raw. It’s show, not tell.
First chapters are not the most exciting chapters, but agents know that is not the purpose of first chapters. First chapters must pull readers in, with all the clues in place to show them that the ending will be worth the wait.
Image ID: Elena, a white woman with a dark blonde pixie cut is wearing a black jacket and looking into the camera. She is smiling with her chin resting on her fist.
Elena Hartwell Taylor is the Senior Editor & Director of Programming at Allegory Editing. In addition to working as a developmental editor and writing coach, Elena is a published author. Her most recent novel, All We Buried, appears under the name Elena Taylor. The Eddie Shoes Mystery Series appears under Elena Hartwell. Prior to writing novels, Elena worked extensively in the theater as a playwright, director, educator, and designer. She has taught writing and theatre courses at the college/university level for more than twenty years. She holds a PhD in dramatic theory and criticism, a Masters of Education with an emphasis in teaching theatre, and a BA in Mass Media Communications. For more information about Elena, you can visit her website and read her blog about authors, new books, and the writing process. You can contact her at elena@allegoryediting.com.
