NaNo Prep: Planning Your Novel’s Beginning

Yesterday we worked on developing a general idea of our novels, so today, let’s focus specifically on the beginning. If your plan is to write a 50K novel (even if there are plans to flesh it out to longer after the first rough draft), your opening is going to run about 12,500 words. Roughly 25% of the book. If you're doing a half novel, you'll be around 25K words, maybe less if your word count is under 100K. Look at your target word count and do the math. (And bear in mind this is all general guidelines) Within this opening you’ll find:

1. A likeable or compelling protagonist
2. An interesting initial problem to solve
3. What life is like for the protag
4. The introduction of the other major characters in the novel
5. The inciting event
6. The beginning’s crisis that triggers the protag to act toward solving the core conflict of the novel

You might try breaking down you 12,500 into chapters to get a feel for pacing and structure. To hit your 50K mark, you’ll need to write 1600 words a day, so let’s say you’re aiming for a chapter a day. That would give you 30 chapters at the end of the month, a reasonable amount for your average 60-80K novel. (adjust accordingly to fit your own story).

In those first seven to eight chapters, you’ll probably want to accomplish everything on that list (and then some). There’s a good chance the story will unfold roughly like this:

Opening scene – introduction of protag – introduction of world and setting – introduction of initial problem – protag attempts to solve initial problem – something goes wrong – protag reacts and makes a decision – protag involves/meets others while trying to solve/deal with the initial problem and subsequent issues – protag discovers problem is much bigger than expected and/or learns a huge secret that will determine their actions – protag decides to act.

If you’re an outliner, try jotting down some rough ideas that will get from the introduction of your protag to what goes wrong and what they decide to do about it. (Remember that first major crisis from yesterday? That’s what you’re aiming for) This decision, and the event that triggers it, will be one of the major steps of your plot. If this event didn’t happen, there would be no story. Sometimes it’ll be the inciting event, other times it’ll be the result of the inciting event.

Let’s look a little closer at that overview:

Opening scene
This is the first thing your reader will discover about your book, your protag and your world. Great first lines are important, but they can bog you down if you’re trying to craft the perfect one. For NaNo, don’t worry about it. (or start thinking now so you’re all set come Tuesday). You can click off numbers 1-3 in your opening scene alone. Look for a scene that A) fits the world and shows what life is like for your protag, B) shows the protag exhibiting some likable or compelling trait, and C) puts the protag just before they need to act. Acting is critical here, as you want your protag to be driving the story, not just having stuff happen to them.

Introduction of protag
Odds are your opening scene will introduce your protag, but if not, then you’ll have a scene where they are introduced. If there’s something critical to their character the reader needs to know, this is a great place to put it.

Introduction of world and setting
The opening chapters are where you’ll define the world for your readers. A lot of the critical world building and setting will be in that first chapter. Even if your world is downtown Manhattan, you’ll be showing readers downtown Manhattan. Think about how your protag sees this world when you’re wondering what details to use. There’s a good chance you’ll start seeing your theme here as well. Setting is a common place to set the tone for your story.

Introduction of initial problem
When the story opens, something is happening. It doesn’t have to be high drama or fast-paced action, but there should be a sense that something is in the works and going on. This is a good spot to show your world and how your protag fits into it, because your opening problem doesn’t have to be part of your core conflict. It can be something inherent to the world your protag lives in. Being chased by monster. Dodging a nasty boss. Arguing with your ex-spouse. Whatever is a typical issue for your protag. Of course, it’s also fine if the opening problem is part of your core conflict and gets you into the story right away.

Protag attempts to solve initial problem
This is likely going to be the first goal your protag tries to solve. There’s also a good chance this problem will somehow lead to the inciting event or the first major crisis. Look for ways to set your protag on the plot path, using this problem as a bridge to get to the rest of your story.

Something goes wrong
If the problem is solved without hassle, it’s probably not the right problem to open your novel with. Goals, conflicts and stakes are what drives your story forward, so look at every scene as a stepping stone to the next part of the plot. What goes wrong for your protag when they try to solve that first problem? Why does it matter? And remember, it doesn’t have to be action. It can be quiet if your story calls for it. As long as there’s a hook to keep readers reading.

Protag reacts and makes a decision
Here’s your protag’s goal. Stuff happens to them and they do something about it. What they do will move you to your next scene. Wash, rinse repeat. This is a great time to introduce your primary character arc, showing how the external goal is going to conflict with the protag’s internal desires. You might even let that internal issue be the thing that causes them to fail when they hit the first major crisis.

Protag involves/meets others while trying to solve/deal with the initial problem and subsequent issues
Your major secondary characters will show up in the beginning, and the antag will at least be mentioned, even if we don’t see them. If your protag doesn’t know your antag, they’re probably at least know what problem that antag is putting in their path. There will be hints of where the bad guy is going to come from. Subplots will likely appear during this time that cause conflict between what the protag needs to do and what they want to do.

Protag discovers problem is much bigger than expected and/or learns a huge secret that will determine their actions
This will be the start of the beginning’s end, likely the final chapter before we close on the first major crisis. The protag is acting, trying to solve whatever problems you’ve thrown at them, and they’ll either cause something big to happen, or discover something big is happening. Even if they don’t know for sure what it is, they’ll take the first step toward knowing there is a problem—and a bad one. Your stakes will likely go up here as well.

Protag decides to act in a big way
What they do next determines how you’ll start the middle. This will be a goal that puts your protag in the path to the core conflict, not a subplot. It’ll pose a question of some type for the reader (not a literal question, but one they can wonder about, like “will they get the girl back?” or “can they build that spaceship in time?”) This goal will be a major part of the middle’s beginning.

Tomorrow we’ll do a down and dirty overview of the middle of the novel.

Anything not covered here you have questions about? What are some of your goals for your novel’s beginning?