first chapter
by Shenidene
Hi, My name is Shenidene and I'm writing a book well I'm starting a chapter of a book I call snow falling it's a romance/ crime/investigation and well I don't know where to start how to start and I have a lot of ideas in my head and it just float right in the paper so I guess my question is in what way can I start this chapter?
Question:
Not knowing much about your story, I can't give you a specific answer, but here are some general ideas.
Mysteries generally start in one of the following places...
1. The inciting incident or initial driver, which us usually either...
a) the murder
b) the event which causes the murderer to commit the murder (though it may not be obvious that this event triggers the murder).
2. The beginning of the investigation, which could be the discovery of the body or the detective being called to investigate.
Romances, on the other hand, typically start when the two lovers first meet or, in the case of people who have met before, with an event that shows how their relationship stands before it turns romantic.
Another option, which can work for both genres, is to begin with an event in which the main character must cope with a problem unrelated to the main plot, but which demonstrates his/her character and makes the reader like him/her enough to want to keep reading.
Finally, you might consider beginning with the main character seeing the impact character for the first time doing something in a way very different from how the main character would do it.
If you can find an event for your first chapter that draws from both both genres, so much the better. For example, the detective is called to a crime scene, but the person who will become the love interest (maybe a consultant or witness) is there causing trouble when the detective arrives.
In any event, the golden rule is to begin with an event in which something happens that promises to ignite a significant chain of events so the reader will want to keep reading to find out what happens next.
Best of luck.
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