Three Lessons Learned From a ‘First Three Chapters’ Critique

The opening chapters of your story are doubtless some of the most important you’ll write.

When crafted with care, a strong opening sequence effectively hooks readers into your story, encouraging them to keep turning pages to learn more about your characters, plot, and story world. A poor opening sequence, on the other hand, can lead readers to toss your book aside in boredom or frustration before your story ever gets off the ground. 

Knowing the vital importance of a strong opening sequence, I jumped at the opportunity to work with freelance editor Isobelle Lans when she offered me her ‘First Three Chapters’ service in exchange for an honest testimonial and review. 

I’m currently working on the fourth draft of my adult medieval fantasy novel, Lady Legacy. Here’s a peek at the book’s blurb:

"With her medical training complete, ambitious healer Clíana Godtric sets out to become a world-renowned physician by earning a commission at royal court.

But when her first prominent patient dies mysteriously within her care, Clíana must salvage her legacy by mending the heart of a grief-stricken prince, quelling the suspicions of his superstitious companion, and finding the cure to a strange and deadly power taking root within her."

Being four long drafts into this project, it feels like I’ve rewritten and revised my opening chapters a thousand times. Before working with Isobelle, part of me was terrified that her critique would reveal the need for another major rewrite. Still, I knew that I’d rather overhaul Lady Legacy’s opening chapters yet again than settle for a lackluster opening sequence. 

Looking back, I’m so grateful I seized the opportunity to receive Isobelle’s ‘First Three Chapters’ critique. Though she didn’t call for a complete overhaul of my opening chapters (thankfully!), Isobelle’s critique did reveal several key steps I could take to transform Lady Legacy’s opening chapters from decent to well done. 

In fact, most of the feedback Isobelle shared with me boiled down into one of three key pieces of advice, and it’s these lessons learned that I’d love to share with you today. Your first three chapters might not need improvement in the same ways that mine did, but these are doubtless important lessons for any writer to bear in mind when crafting their novel’s opening chapters.

Lesson 1: It’s okay to take your time

Generally speaking, the more quickly an opening chapter can hook readers in, the better. But many writers mistakenly believe that the key to a good hook is to drop readers into the middle of a major conflict: a fistfight, an argument, a horrifying murder. These high-stakes conflicts are gripping, right?

Well, maybe not. Are readers really going to care who wins the duel if they don’t even know who the characters are or what’s at stake? Will your characters’ bitter argument have any emotional impact if your readers can hardly discern which character is which? 

A good hook always begins with character, not conflict. This is a lesson I bore in mind when writing the first chapter of Lady Legacy. But what I failed to understand is that an opening chapter will always fall short of gripping readers if you set too fast a pace, regardless of the type of scene you open with.

To hook readers, I thought I needed to move through my first chapter as quickly as possible, creating a strong sense of forward motion that would draw readers into the heart of the story. Sounds good, right?

The only problem is that this belief led me to cut or withhold vital pieces of information that ultimately would have helped me craft a more compelling opening scene. 

The key lesson I learned here is that it’s okay to take your time in the first chapter. A good hook isn’t necessarily a fast-paced hook. Rather, it’s one that deeply intrigues readers. And as I’ll share in my next two lessons, you can’t intrigue readers if they fail to connect with your protagonist and story world.

Lesson 2: Don’t Skimp on Internal Dialogue

There’s a lot that a good opening sequence must accomplish. It needs to introduce the protagonist and their everyday world, show why the protagonist is dissatisfied with that world in some way, and set the scene for the conflict that will push the protagonist into the journey to come. 

As you can see, character is truly the backbone of story. It’s your protagonist’s actions that will drive the plot and their motivations that will make readers care. If readers fail to connect with your main character during your story’s opening chapters, then you will fail to hook readers into your story. 

One of the easiest ways to encourage this reader-character connection is to let readers peek inside your protagonist’s mind. In an effort to keep my opening sequence gripping, I failed to do just this. 

Though readers were able to see and experience the opening scenes through the eyes of my protagonist, Clíana Godtric, I rarely allowed them to glimpse what Clíana was thinking or feeling. Big mistake. By working back through my opening chapters to sneak in small bits of internal dialogue, I was able to craft a far more personal and compelling narrative, which will always make for a stronger hook. 

Lesson 3: Find Ways to Establish Key Exposition

Relating exposition (i.e. the context information that helps readers make sense of your story world) in your novel’s opening chapters can be tough. Too much exposition can slow the pace of your story to a crawl, while too little exposition can leave your readers feeling lost and confused.

In trying to maintain a fast-paced narrative, I made the mistake of cutting too much exposition from Lady Legacy’s opening chapters. In fact, most of the feedback in Isobelle’s editorial letter addressed this key lack of context. Isobelle noted that she was unable to discern:

• My characters’ ages and appearances

• My protagonist’s position in society

• The type of relationship that two prominent characters shared

• The meaning of many of the world-building terms that are unique to my story
  

And more, unfortunately! 

Readers certainly don’t need to understand every facet of your story world upfront. In fact, it’s usually better to sprinkle expositional details throughout a story than to info-dump in a way that disrupts the story’s pace. But, as evidenced in my own novel, a failure to share basic expositional details early on can lead to an opening sequence that feels rushed and confusing rather than gripping. 

At the end of the day, applying these three lessons to my manuscript was an easy task that made a huge impact. In just a few short days, I was able to review my first three chapters and add in key pieces of inner dialogue and exposition that cut down on reader confusion while making Lady Legacy’s opening sequence much more compelling. Talk about a better hook, right?

If you aren’t sure whether your opening chapters are the best that they can be, then don’t be afraid to seek feedback from an editor, beta reader, or critique partner. Though receiving feedback can be tough, it’s also essential. Truly constructive criticism exists to help you make your story the best that it can be — and in the process, it helps you become a better writer as well. 

Isobelle’s ‘First Three Chapters’ critique didn’t just help me polish Lady Legacy’s opening sequence to high shine. It also helped me improve my knowledge of the craft and further develop my critical eye. Because of this feedback, I know I’ll be able to craft even stronger opening chapters right out of the gate the next time I draft a new story.

Eager to receive feedback on your novel’s opening chapters? Don’t miss Isobelle Lans’ First Three Chapters critique!

Isobelle Lans is a UK-based fiction editor who helps writers develop their writing skills to create stronger books. Through her editorial services, writing workbooks, free resources, and blog posts, Isobelle helps writers tackle some of the more difficult aspects of writing and revising. You can connect with her on Instagram, where she shares insights, tips, and encouragement for other writers. Or, you can visit her website here.