{A note from Alyson: all the strategies and rules of this blog series apply primarily to adventure novels. Not all standards and regulations will carry into other genres.}
Remember COC? We’ve used the Chapter One Criteria to create all the key elements that make a first chapter remarkable. As a refresher, the COC is:
• A grabbing first sentence {“the hook”}
• A paragraph that adds to the first sentence {“the line”}
• Two successive paragraphs that build upon setting, character, peril, etc. {“the sinker”}
• One or two scenes that complete a series of events in your character’s life.
Today, I’ll introduce you to the final COC element. It’s called suspense – the concluding sentence, paragraph, or scene that leads into the second chapter by creating the question “what comes next?”
The Goal of Suspense
By now, your first chapter is awesome! You’ve got the reader hook, line, and sinker. Don’t cut the line now. Rather, reel them in. You do this by creating uncertainty in the reader’s mind about what might happen. In Part Three, we made an ending question from the excerpt scene {will Mary survive?}. For the sake of this example, let’s say that scene was the end of the first chapter. So, the uncertainty of what might happen to Mary keeps the reader going. The goal of suspense is to make the reader cry, “I need to know what happens next!”
Do I Know That?
Your mission imperative at this time is to know what comes next yourself. If you don’t know, then you may get to the end of chapter one and never complete the story! To avoid that disaster, we can do two things.
One, break up a scene. If you already have a section with a moment of peril inside it, consider slicing it at the most critical moment and carrying the rest of the scene into chapter two.
S.D. Smith {who penned the Green Ember books} illustrates this perfectly in his first book.
“A huge limb, one of the monster maple’s bending arms – heavy and ablaze – cracked off and hurtled toward them. She stole a panicked glance at Picket. Picket was on his back, eyes closed. He wasn’t moving.”
CHAPTER TWO
“As the burning limb descended, Heather sprang. She dove onto her brother, gripping him tightly and rolling them both down the sloping grass, away from the blazing maple’s limbs. The singed fingers of the outmost branch pawed at them -” {1}
Okay, you get the idea. I don’t want to give away the rest of the story. You should read S.D. Smith’s books yourself and find out what happens {link below}.
Two, plot your second chapter. The first chapter launches your character into a story, and the second chapter launches the story into a book. Plotting is as simple as deciding what your character will be doing. Remember, heroes can be doing something positive {something the characters enjoy, regularly do, and that involves people} or something negative {something the characters are unsure about, is out of their routine, and leaves them alone}. At this point, you can also introduce a new character, new setting, add character development – the possibilities for chapter two are endless. So, have fun with it!
Unless, of course, you wrote chapter two before chapter one. Then, you’re good to go.
This last scene, paragraph, or sentence should be a mini cliffhanger. Although, it is not like your character must be running from danger or narrowly escaping death. It simply means you know what’s coming and the reader doesn’t.
So, now you know how to make Chapter One a dynamic part of your story that will hook readers in such a way that you are pleased with your work. Now, you can go beyond The Chapter One Dilemma and soar through your book! Keep it up and share your story with others.
Please, put any questions in the comments below, and I will try my best to help you. Also, check out the fun bonus blog!
