How do you start a prologue or first chapter?

“How do you write a prologue or first chapter? I want to start strong but don’t know how.”

I don’t want to sound hyperbolic when I say that your opening is everything. It’s your first chance to grab a reader’s attention and convince them to keep reading. How you do that will depend entirely on you, your project, and the style and genre you’re working in, but the very first question you need to ask yourself is whether you need a prologue or should go straight to the first chapter. They serve different functions, and while both need a hook, how you achieve that won’t always be the same.

What’s the difference between a prologue and first chapter?

A prologue is separate from your main narrative. It’s a tool for providing critical information that doesn’t fit naturally into your first chapter. It acts a bit like a preview that sets up reader expectations and potential context for your story.

Your first chapter, on the other hand, is where your main story begins. It’s where you introduce your protagonist, introduce your story world, and establish your narrative voice. While a prologue can stand somewhat apart from your main narrative, your first chapter needs to flow seamlessly into the rest of it.

Do you need a prologue?

This is perhaps the most important question to ask yourself before you start writing. And let me tell you, the literary world is divided on them. Prologues can be powerful when used correctly, but they’re not always necessary. And some readers simply aren’t fans at all. Prologues are the Marmite of the bookish world.

So when might you use a prologue?

They work best when:

• The events you’re recounting take place in a different time period than the rest of your plot.
• It follows different characters from your primary narrative.
• It reveals information your protagonist doesn’t know yet, but the audience needs to (this is especially useful if you’re writing the rest of the piece with a more limited point of view that would make this information impossible to convey any other way).

Personally, I think that if you can incorporate the information from your prologue naturally into your worldbuilding as the story progresses, that’s often the stronger choice as many readers skip prologues entirely. But only you can decide if it’s a fundamental part of the story you want to tell.

Starting strong: The essentials

Whether you choose a prologue or just dive right in with your first chapter, certain elements are needed to make for a compelling opening. Your first priority should be hooking your readers’ attention.

A lot of writing advice will say to start with action. But this advice alone is easily misinterpreted. Many writers will take this to mean that you need to start with a traditional point of action, like a car chase, or a heist. While this can certainly be effective if it’s the kind of story you’re telling, what this advice actually means is that when you introduce your protagonist, they need to be active within the scene. The way you introduce them in the very first paragraph sets the stage for who they are, so be sure to keep that in mind.

While you’re drawing readers in, you also need to establish your voice. These opening pages tell readers what kind of story they’re about to experience. A comedy should make them smile, a thriller should create unease, and a piece of literary fiction should showcase your unique voice and perspective, for instance.

You’ll also need to ground your readers in your story’s world. This is where it can be so easy to stumble. Too little context, and your readers can feel lost, but too much information front-loads your worldbuilding so readers feel overwhelmed. The balance is key (but don’t worry too much about it for your first draft. Just keep it in mind for editing).

Common opening mistakes

The most common mistake when opening a prologue or first chapter is trying to do too much too quickly. It’s easy to feel pressure to explain everything upfront. This can lead to prologues that read like history lessons or first chapters bogged down in backstory. Remember, readers don’t need to understand everything immediately. They just need to be intrigued enough to want to learn more.

Starting too early is another frequent misstep. Unless your character’s morning routine directly relates to your plot or reveals something crucial about their personality, it’s probably not the best place to begin. It ties in, once again, to the old writing adage about starting with action. Getting ready in the morning is usually a passive routine, and isn’t something your character has an active narrative role in, so consider starting your story as close to the inciting incident as possible. Or take risks and experiment with timelines. Just make sure your characters can stand out and draw readers into their world.

Making it work

The perfect opening often emerges through revision rather than initial inspiration. So don’t get bogged down in making it perfect the first time. Let your first draft be magnificently imperfect, as you’ll end up with multiple versions as you revise.

Revision also means you can experiment. Try starting your story at different points to find the most effective entry into your narrative. Try different points of view. Sometimes what you initially thought was your first chapter works better as chapter two or three. As Terry Pratchett so famously said:

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

Terry Pratchett

Revising your opening

When you really dig into your revisions, here are some questions you can ask yourself to check whether you have an interesting opening. And this goes for both prologues and opening chapters.

• Does this opening make promises to the reader about what kind of story they’re about to read?
• Does it leave the right first impression that you want your reader to walk away with?
• Does it introduce the right elements at the right pace?
• If a reader read only the first chapter or prologue, would they be able to tell someone else the kind of book it is accurately?
• Would it make you want to keep reading if you weren’t the author?

Revision is all about being open to changes. Any successful book or story has been through multiple revisions, especially with their openings and closings.

Remember that your opening doesn’t have to be perfect in your first draft. Sometimes you need to write the entire story before you truly understand how it should begin, so don’t let a fear of sticking the landing keep you from actively trying.