How to write fanfiction

9 ✽ First Chapter

Writing that first chapter is the biggest hurdle of them all. How do you start the first chapter? And what does your first chapter need? I will tackle the do and don'ts in this chapter.

If you came this far then you already know a lot of things for your story and the main characters. This is where you need your outline and the profiles from your characters so you don't go mix things up. So let's go. 

The first chapter is supposed to be the hook that pulls the reader into your story. Exactly, it's the first chapter of your story and not any type of information such as a profile of the main character. Why would you deploy any information to introduce who the main character is? Not only is it a information dump, something you should avoid. I mean, who wants to know this anyway? Start the damn story instead of making it look like the main character has gone missing. Some information might be needed depending on the fanfiction when it's about Naruto because of certain jutsu's, or in HunterXHunter with their abilities, but you get the point. Honestly, a few lines of information in the beginning is more than enough. 

So what are other things you don't do in the first chapter. Here's what to avoid and why:

1 Info dumping: I mentioned it earlier. This can be in the shape of an introduction of the main character, a list of abbreviations for an XReader story, but you can also think of too much description of world building in case of a fantasy story. Only reveal things as it becomes important.

2 Waking up: please refrain from having your main character or reader waking up in the morning. It's very mundane and boring because we all wake up in the morning and do we need to be reminded? No, of course not. Change it into something else and that your character has to make a decision that will have an affect on them later on in the story. 

3 Usage of pictures: I understand a picture at the top of the chapter that's relevant to the chapter but for the rest of said chapter you describe what happens in the story. That means any narration, dialogue, thoughts, actions, and describing outfits, environments such as a bedroom, living room, and others. So here is my question, why do you use any other pictures of bedrooms and outfits? You are an author so you need to describe the outfit with words. This is called imagery. Using pictures can be taken as lazy writing. 

4 Canon story: following the original story from the start but with the only change of your character that is added to it. Why make us read the story about Naruto up to the point where your character joins Team 7 under Kakashi? Or the 287th exam from HunterxHunter, the journey of the Lord of the Rings, the battle for New York with the Avengers to name a few. These kinds of stories are tricky because they already exist. I suggest you make your story run parallel with the original so that you can still play along with the serie, movie, or book. 

5 Everything in 1 paragraph: this one is more technical, and I know it but trust me, no one wants to see all narration, description, dialogue and inner dialogue all pushed into one big paragraph. That reads very heavy. Speakers needs to be separated, and other things. If you're not sure how to write, use Google to find some answers or simply open a book to give you an example. I talked about it earlier, but I can not express this enough. 

We go from what you should not do to the things that can help you with that first chapter. How to make your first chapter more captivating.

1 First sentence: ignore what everyone says that the first sentence is suppose to hook you in the story because that is nonsense. It takes a chapter for someone to get invested in a story so don't think you need some philosophical or deep sentence because the first sentence does set the tone of the story. If you need examples take a look at the books you have on your shelf. Do a little research, it can inspire you as well.

2 Introducing the main character: yes, you should still introduce your main character but without all the other information. However, put him or her in a unique situation where they are forced to make a desicion or something similar and let it have an affect on them mentally.

3 Start where the story starts: this means that you introduce the main character before the trouble starts that will sent them on an adventure of some kind and not a history lesson. Let us know th history when it's needed to know and not from the get-go.

4 Normal life: write one or two chapters about their normal life before the trouble begins that will change their lives. Don't get too hung up on their normal lives and write five or more chapters about it. Depending on the story and genre, you weave their normal lives with the problem and any trouble that will ensue. 

5 Move on: don't try to perfect your first chapter of your rough draft. It's a neverending loop of editing that will only discourage you. Instead, move on because as you write, you learn and develop your style, writing style, and vocabulary every day. Tackle the editing process later when you finished that rough draft. Why wait, well, 1, perfection is subjective, and 2, you are not capable yet of writing a flawless chapter.

Honestly, there is so much more to find. If you want to know more you can get lost in Pinterest, YouTube, or Google it. Get creative.