A writing guide · updated 8 November 2026

How to start a book

Decide what the book is about in one sentence, plan just enough to know where the first act ends, then write the first chapter fast. Here is how, step by step, and what the first chapter has to do.

By the Feldar team

The short answer

To start a book, decide what it is about in one sentence, plan just enough to know where the first act ends, then write the first chapter fast and badly. Fix the opening last. Most first chapters are rewritten more than any other part of a book, so the goal of the first draft is to get to chapter two.

How to start writing a book, step by step

Write the one sentence. Who wants what, and what stands in the way. "A retired detective who now sells hats is pulled back in when a customer leaves a hat full of stolen diamonds." If you cannot write this sentence yet, write five versions and pick one.
Know your ending, roughly. Not every scene, just where the main character ends up. Writers who know the destination waste fewer chapters.
Plan the first act. List the scenes up to the moment the main character cannot go back. For most novels that is the first quarter of the book.
Pick the first scene. The day things change. Not the character's childhood, not the history of the town. If you need backstory, you will add it later in small pieces.
Set a small, daily target. 300 or 500 words a day finishes a 70,000 word draft in under a year. A target you hit every day beats a big one you miss.
Do not edit chapter one yet. You will know much more about the book by chapter ten. Mark what bothers you and keep going.

What your first chapter has to do

Introduce one main character

The reader needs someone to follow. Give them a name, a want and a problem in the first few pages.

Show the ordinary world, briefly

Just enough of normal life that the reader feels it when it breaks. A page, not a chapter.

Change something

A letter, an arrival, a death, a lie that comes out. The first chapter usually ends just after the change, or just before it.

Set the tone

Funny, eerie, tender, tense. The reader decides in the first chapter what kind of book this is. Keep the promise.

Should you start with a prologue?

Usually not. Prologues tend to hold backstory or a distant scene that delays the main story, and many readers skip them. A prologue earns its place when it shows something the main story cannot: an event years earlier that the whole book turns on, or a point of view the reader never sees again. If your prologue could be cut and the book still makes sense, cut it and see whether chapter one is stronger.

Tools that help you start

A notebook and a word processor are enough. If you want help planning and drafting, Feldar, the writing app we make, gives every chapter a list of scenes you can plan and reorder, keeps your characters and places on a Canvas beside the page, and offers AI suggestions in blue that stay only if you accept them. It has a free plan with 500 credits.

If what you need is the first line, the first line generator on our home page writes five openings for your story using five different techniques.

Questions

How do I start writing a book with no experience?

Write one sentence about what the book is about, read two or three books like the one you want to write, and then write 300 words a day. Your first draft will be rough, and that is normal for every writer.

Should I outline before I start a book?

Plan at least the first act and the ending. Some writers outline every scene and some discover the story as they go, but almost everyone benefits from knowing where the first quarter of the book ends.

How long should the first chapter be?

Most first chapters run 2,000 to 5,000 words. Shorter is usually better: the first chapter's job is to make the reader start the second.

What is the best first sentence for a book?

One that makes the reader ask a question. See our list of famous first lines and why they work.