I Wrote Chapter 1
Finally Getting Words On The Page
I’m sitting in a conference room. I’m the second one to arrive, but the blazer I’m wearing makes me an authority figure. Workshop attendees ask me if there in the right place, where they should sit, and where the bathrooms are. Little do they know I’m merely one of them. I’ve come to a workshop on plotting your novel at a local literary festival. Local, if a 3-hour roundtrip drive counts as local. It’s a cute seaside town where the home prices are drastically out of my budget. I’m sure most of the attendees had to drive to get here. The debut author’s paycheck does not afford ocean views.
We’re all glancing at our phones, noting the time. The speaker is running a few minutes late, but rest assured, she’s here, a festival organizer announces. She takes her seat at the head of the room and we dive in. Are you a plotter, or a pantser? She asks. We’re all a mix of both.
I’ve had the concept of this novel since before we moved, despite it being inspired by the move. Figuring I wanted to be prepared for the workshop, and on the Instagram advice of @catsteadman, I plotted the novel days in advance. But the workshop was the fourth step on the Save The Cat structure the speaker doted on, the catalyst. I had a brief summary of all forty chapters. All I had to do was put words on the page.
I wrote the first draft of chapter 1 three years ago. It was boring. It depicted my protagonist waking up and explaining her environment. Nobody cares about that. That’s a terrible first chapter. I’ve received the advice numerous times to just get started, you can always edit later. However I’ve found that your concept of the chapter needs to be at the bare minimum, intriguing. If I’m bored writing it, my reader is going to be bored reading it.
2024, a second chapter 1. The concept of the novel had materialized a bit more. The premise was the same, but now I had a cast of characters. They had names! I still started with world building. It was still boring.
2025, I tried again. The main issue was that I was trying to start with the premise of the world my novel takes place in, but I had no idea what actually happened in the book. What was this story even about?
Early 2026, I shelved the project. I figured I don’t read enough fiction anyway to write a compelling novel. But the worm of the premise couldn’t leave my brain.
April 30, 2026: Chapter 1. We meet our protagonist at work. Re-reading it, it’s okay.
May 4, 2026: Chapter 1 again. We meet our protagonist when she develops her wound. Intriguing.
May 5, 2026: Chapter 2. We meet our protagonist in the modern day, and the theme and plot are revealed. Intriguing.
May 6, 2026: Chapter 3. We flash back in time a couple years for world building and character introduction. It’s a SFD, if you’re familiar.
All three chapters are Shitty First Drafts (SFD) so far. That’s exactly what I’m trying to accomplish. I’ve spent years with these characters and scenes entering my mind. Years where the world becomes more complex. Three years since I first came up with the idea, and now I finally know where the story is going!
This is exciting for me. I thought I’d need to abandon my novel until I was 100% ready to write it. But much like deciding to become a parent, you’ll never be 100% ready. The best part about writing is that it is an iterative process. The first draft is never the final draft. All I need to do is get words on the page, with an idea of where the story is going.
In chapter 2 I mention a detail about a character that I changed in chapter 3. That’s fine! I’ll probably write the entire book before really nailing down what this character is exactly like. She’s got a supporting but important role, and the detail about whether or not she wears lipstick reveals something about herself, but it’s not the most important thing about her.
I’ll edit my first draft. And then I’ll edit it again. And then someone else will edit it. The important thing is that I have something to edit.
Hi, I’m Catherine. Nobody tells you that life getting more stable can feel more disorienting. I write about happiness, motherhood, and neurodivergence — for women who thrived in survival mode and then lost their map when things finally calmed down.
You can connect with me on Instagram @CatherineEmeraldQuill