Why I Rewrote My First Chapter Six Times

I’m going to take you behind the scenes with this essay. This morning, I rewrote the opening of my new book—again, for the sixth time.

I think I’m getting close.

I don’t usually count my rewrites, but this one is different.

The first chapter has been a thorn in my side. I’ve changed the setting, rewritten the voice, shifted the POV, stripped the dialogue, added parts of everything back, and still, something hasn’t been clicking.

Then, this morning, I remembered it is the same old problem.

Over the years, I’ve learned that tingle that comes when the opening is not right. I’ve also learned that not getting it right is not failure. It’s friction. It’s the story, after I’ve written farther down the road, trying to find its way out.

The reason this chapter was so difficult? This opening salvo? It’s because I wrote it back when I knew the least about my story.

That’s the part I always forget. You may, too. We tend to write only the beginnings and then move on. It’s when we come back to them that we feel that something is not right or certainly not as complete as it should be.

The way it works, though, is that we start books thinking we are beginning at the beginning, but we don’t know what the story needs at the start until we’ve lived through the middle and reached the end. This first chapter, then, is often written by a version of ourselves who hasn’t yet grown into the writer that the book we’re writing demands.

That’s what happened to me this morning. I’m not failing. I’m not a bad writer. I’m simply going back and rewriting that first chapter to catch up with the rest of the book.

A long time ago, I used to beat myself up over this. I wrote the beginning, and when I wrote it, it read great. Going back, it stinks. Or, at least, it doesn’t provide the interest needed to start a book. Today, though, amid the sixth draft, I smiled. I realized the age-old problem, and now I’m sharpening the story opening. I could feel myself sharpening as a writer.

My Success Point writing tip for you today is not to expect your best work to show up first, even though you might write it that way. Expect it to show up later, after you’ve traveled down the road, after you have earned it.

If your first chapter feels clunky or off, join the club.

If you’re writing your first chapter right now, it’s not supposed to shine yet. Keep going. Don’t keep trying to fix it before you move on. Get to the end of your story, then reevaluate and meet your story opening again, this time with clarity, depth, and with the authority and knowledge you didn’t have about the plot, conflicts, characters, theme, etc., when you started.

Today, I went back in. Not because I got it wrong before but because I now know more about the story.

If you’re stuck in the same spot, trust me: the version of you who finishes a book is the version who will finally know how it needs to begin.

You must reach the end to understand what the beginning is.

Let’s keep writing.

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