Your beginning matters, but not as much as finishing the damn story

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You want it perfect. I get it.

The first line. The first page. That sacred, glowing doorway where your book begins and every reader walks through.

It matters. Of course it does.

But not the way you think.

Most new writers obsess over the beginning. They write and rewrite Chapter One until the soul leaks out of it. They chase the mythical “perfect first line” like it holds the key to the whole book. And it may, but…

Here’s the truth: Your first line will almost definitely not be the first thing you write.

And your first chapter? Odds are good you’ll cut it.

Stop spinning your wheels rewriting the first three chapters.

Move forward.

Finish the story.

Then we can get crazy and overzealous about the beginning and the perfect first line, after you have a story.

Why Beginnings Matter

They set the tone.

They make promises, about voice, genre, pacing, style.

They give the reader a taste of what’s to come.

They are not where you dump your worldbuilding or monologue your backstory.

A good beginning drops us in late. Usually.

We don’t need the two-hour conversation that leads to “Let’s define our relationship.”

We need the moment the glass shatters.

Hooks Aren’t Just Gimmicks

Yes, your opening should grab attention.

But that doesn’t mean you need a snappy punchline or some overly-clever twist.

A good hook sets expectations. It matches the vibe of what follows.

Think of the start of one of my favorite books, William Gibson’s Neuromancer:

“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”

You don’t know the character or the conflict yet, but you know what kind of ride you’re in for.

Write Your Way Into the Start

Most of us write ourselves into the story.

We noodle around, build momentum, and then somewhere around Chapter 2 or 3 we find the real beginning.

That’s not a problem. That’s the process.

Write scenes. Write character moments. Write out of order. Or not. I can’t. But everybody has a different way to make this work.

The important thing is to keep going until you finish.

Eventually, something will click, and you’ll say, Ah. That’s my start.

Don’t Be Afraid to Cut

Think of your first chapter like scaffolding.

It helped you build the story, but you might not need it once the structure stands.

Write it. Learn from it. Then ruthlessly delete it if it’s not pulling its weight.

(Yes, even if it has a line you love. Especially then.)

But keep the words. I have a section in my Book Guide called Boneyard. I keep the scraps there. You never know when you might want to resurrect some of this. It might be for another story.

What Not to Do at the Beginning

Don’t try to explain everything up front.
Your reader doesn’t need a full history of the kingdom, a glossary of alien species, or the character’s entire childhood trauma in paragraph one. Trust them to catch up.Don’t start with a dream.
Just…no. Unless the dream becomes literal and integral to the plot immediately, it’s usually a cheap fake-out. It signals, “I don’t know how to start, so here’s a gimmick.”Don’t bury the hook in a pile of description.
It’s tempting to wax poetic about the forest or the weather or the moonlight. But if nothing’s happening, we’re already slipping away.Don’t start with someone waking up, unless it’s the most interesting wake-up in literary history.
There are exceptions (The Hunger Games does this well), but nine times out of ten, “they woke up” is just a placeholder for “I haven’t figured out the actual start yet.”Don’t promise one thing and deliver another.
If your first line is edgy and dark but your book is a cozy mystery, readers will bounce. Your opening should reflect the tone, genre, and energy of the book they’re about to read.Don’t get stuck perfecting the beginning forever.
You’re not married to it. You’ll come back later, with a better understanding of the book, and probably a better sentence too.

Final Thought

The beginning will matter. But only after you finish.

So, stop fussing. Start writing.

The perfect first line? Don’t ask me. I’m not William Gibson. If everything works right it will coalesce from all the hard work of crafting your story.

I can tell you that for my first published book I ended up writing a brand new first chapter that actually stuck, after I finished the story.

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