18 Comments
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Tales from the Beauty Chair's avatar

I have written and rewritten my first chapter so many times, i thought it hit all the right notes but now not so sure. Maybe I need new eyes on it again.

Emily Frey's avatar

So useful. Thank you!

M. H. Birkelund's avatar

I recently rewrote a first chapter for the current novel I’m working on, and this questions just made it clear to me why it was needed. 🌟

Kristen Weber's avatar

I love this! And now you know for next time

Carlyn MontesDeOca's avatar

What do I struggle with on the first draft? - My inner editor. But at book three she's a much better partner than she was with book one.

Kristen Weber's avatar

I love to hear this! So glad you’re finding a way to work together.

Carlyn MontesDeOca's avatar

Thank you! And thanks for this insightful post.

Julianne's Enchanted Tales āœØļøšŸŒ¹'s avatar

Thank you for this exercise- I'll put it to my first chapter. :)

Kristen Weber's avatar

Yay! Hope it helps!!

Matt Cyr's avatar

Thanks for this post, Kristen. This is good, especially like the part about the question being asked. If there’s not a clear dramatic question pulling the reader forward, the prose has to do so much heavy lifting.

Kristen Weber's avatar

So true! Let the story lift instead!

Caroline Madden's avatar

So useful!

Kristen Weber's avatar

So glad ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø

Noah Witenstein's avatar

This was an insightful article. I’m glad I came across your profile. New follower already! I wonder if you could tell me if this piece pulls you from the start.

https://substack.com/@noahwitenstein/note/p-188939902?r=w30hx&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

Kathleen Hay's avatar

Thank you! Article definitely helps focus on what I need to accomplish. My beginning is where my word count problem needs the most cuts. I know I have that good first chapter in there - I just needs to unbury it.

Stories of Warmth's avatar

Hi Kristen,

I have read it and it somewhat resembles with my approach to my writings.

I would like to invite you to check out recently launched Chapter 1 of the new story ā€œJourney to the Wishā€ depicting a corporate girl seeking new hope amidst struggles at work.

After reading, you may leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Enjoy reading :)

https://storyafterwork.substack.com/p/chapter-1-lighting-up-a-sky-lantern?r=6y0rx4

Kristen Weber's avatar

Thank you for the kind message and for sharing your project. I’m glad you’ve found some resonance, and I wish you every success with your writing.

Stories of Warmth's avatar

Thanks Kristen for your comments. I will use this as a motivation to improve.