Opening chapter mistakes to avoid in your novel

I’ve edited over two hundred novels over the course of my career, and I see a lot of common opening chapter mistakes that can lead to a manuscript being rejected. Many of these problems can be fixed, though, to give your novel an even better chance of success when submitting to literary agents or publishers. And if you’re self-publishing, it’ll mean readers are less likely to put the novel down or leave it unfinished.

Here are the most common mistakes I see in a novel’s opening chapter that are best avoided – and how to fix them.

I will also provide a caveat here: there are cases where some of these elements can work well, but it’s all about how they’re handled. Newer writers can often find it more challenging to subvert expectations and to break away from clichés, so it’s worth thinking about this as you weigh up whether to include these elements in your opening chapter.

Starting with your character waking up

Beginning a novel with your main character waking up for the day is, put very simply, usually an uninteresting way of starting a story. It’s often the easiest start that a writer reaches for – it might seem natural to start here, because it’s how we “begin” in our daily lives. We start a new day by waking up and beginning our routine.

But in a novel, it can feel dull and cliché to do this (and perhaps it feels cliché because it’s the easiest “beginning” we can think of). Literary agents have been known to critique this type of start for this very reason.

It’s fine to get yourself started with a first draft by writing in this way. But when you’re revising and starting to think about submission, consider whether this type of opening is working effectively for your novel.

If you do feel the need to begin a novel in this way, think about why and what’s unique about this particular day. What’s different about this versus a regular everyday wakeup, where a character’s alarm goes off and they roll over to switch it off? Are you writing a thriller where a character wakes up tied up inside a van with no idea how they got there, meaning it’s not a typical day?

Even in those circumstances, consider whether it’s the most effective opening, or whether starting earlier and providing more context might be useful.

Mundane day-to-day tasks

This is often tied into a main character waking up to begin their day in the opening chapter. They might wake up and brush their teeth, get dressed, look at the view outside, take a shower, brew a pot of coffee, eat their breakfast.

Even if we didn’t see them waking up, you might have slipped into describing mundane day-to-day tasks in your opening chapter regardless. Describing your character’s usual routine and mundane everyday tasks in great detail can be very boring! It can also make pacing feel incredibly slow.

It’s far more effective to show a brief snippet of their usual lives before showing the reader the moment where the routine and status quo breaks, or where there’s a sudden change or choice to be made for the character.

In a contemporary novel, for example, if your character has a new job, throw them in at the deep end and show them being thrust into the role, instead of describing all the daily tasks in the lead-up. In a fantasy, give us some insight into the character’s life but show us what’s disrupting it – is there a nasty plague, a spreading darkness, a villain on the move?

Dream sequences

Dream sequences have become somewhat cliché – they are one of the top opening chapter mistakes I see as an editor. They can lead to the reader feeling misled. If you begin your novel with a gripping mystery being presented to the character or an intense fight sequence, then have the character wake up in a pool of sweat, readers are going to feel jarred at best. At worst, they could feel cheated and frustrated, especially if the dream sequence presented an interesting hook that’s no longer real.

Any tension you built, any concern the reader had for the protagonist in those moments, will be gone as soon as the character wakes up.

In short, you’ve broken trust with your reader very early on, and they may struggle to get on board with anything else in the novel, in case that’s also a dream.

Unless dreams are very relevant to your plot (such as a fantasy book where a detective solves murders by stepping into other people’s dreams), then it’s usually best to leave them out.

Information dumps and exposition

Delivering lots of information to your reader at once at the start of a novel can be a recipe for overwhelm and lack of interest. Exposition (aka telling or summarising too much) can also feel unnatural in a novel if it goes on for long stretches.

The reader will want to feel immersed in a novel’s scenes, to experience the story, rather than to be fed lengthy passages of information. A story can easily feel like a textbook if an author uses too much exposition in the opening chapter.

This is one of the most common opening chapter mistakes in genres like fantasy and science fiction, which are heavy on lore and often take place in a fictional world that requires ground rules and setup.

But there are more effective ways to deliver information – by working it into the story itself, building it into a scene, or incorporating it into dialogue. A “breadcrumb” approach often works best – giving the reader the information they need to follow along with the story at any one time, but not delivering too much at once. You can read my full post on how to avoid exposition for more guidance on this.

The protagonist looking into a mirror

A main character looking into a mirror has also become a bit of a writing cliché. Why? Well, most likely for the same reason as starting with waking up. It’s the easiest option to reach for when thinking about how to describe the character – just have them look in a mirror and observe themselves! Easy!

It’s also, unfortunately, lazy writing for the same reason. It paints a picture of that character, yes, but in a way that can also feel unrealistic.

And the problem with relying on this is that you might feel tempted to do it in every story you write, if it becomes a crutch.

There are ways to work in what your protagonist looks like without resorting to the mirror cliché. Think about their habits and other descriptive ways you can include the information. Do they often flick a strand of brown hair over their shoulder because it annoys them if it’s in the way? Do they wear glasses that they chose to match their eyes? Do they share the trait of another character (does she have the same curly hair as her brother)?

These are much more organic ways to include the information.

Action without context or stakes

It’s often suggested that writers begin their novel in media res, meaning in the middle of some action. This can be a good idea – but it does depend on how it’s executed.

Including action just for the sake of it at the start of a novel can backfire, especially if you haven’t included any setup or stakes. If you open the novel immediately with a sword fight between mortal enemies, or a man robbing a bank – will the reader have a reason to care about that conflict at this stage?

Most likely, they won’t have had enough time to understand the stakes or to care about the protagonist’s plight. The reader needs to know why this conflict is taking place, what the protagonist wants, and what they stand to lose for the action to feel gripping or compelling.

So if you decide to open in media res, make sure you also set up the emotional stakes and the motivations of the character. Give the reader a reason to care and to root for them!

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Those are the most common mistakes I see in a novel’s opening chapter (they often run across multiple chapters as well). If you plan on submitting your work, literary agents tend to ask for the first three chapters, so it’s worth checking your material for these elements beforehand.

I hope this post was helpful in shaping your first chapter. Good luck!