How to Start Writing a Novel: 10 Things to Plan Before Chapter One

When a writing idea hits me, my first instinct is to start writing. I grab whatever is nearby and get the words down before the moment passes. That instinct is good. You should honor it. But after years of teaching creative writing, I also know that the novels that make it past chapter three are usually the ones where the writer paused, even briefly, to answer a few key questions before diving in.

You don't need a 40-page outline. You don't need to know every plot twist. But there are 10 things worth thinking through before you write chapter one, and they will save you from the most common reasons writers get stuck.

1. Develop Your Protagonist's Character Bio

Before you write a single scene, know your main character. Not just their name and appearance, but what they want. What does your protagonist want more than anything, and what are they willing to do to get it? Want drives plot. Without a clear want, your character will wander, and so will your story.

Write a character bio that covers the basics: age, background, personality, strengths, and flaws. Then go deeper. What does your protagonist fear? What do they believe about the world that may or may not be true? What are they hiding? The more you know your character before chapter one, the more naturally they will drive the story forward.

2. Picture the Opening Scene

Think about where your story begins. Not just the location, but the moment. What is happening when we first meet your protagonist? What time of day is it? What does the world look, sound, and feel like? Is your character in motion or at rest? Are they alone or surrounded by others?

A strong opening scene drops the reader into a specific, vivid moment. Before you write it, close your eyes and watch it like a film. The clearer the scene is in your mind, the more alive it will be on the page.

3. Write Your Opening Hook

Your first sentence has one job: make the reader need to read the second sentence. Before you write chapter one, draft several versions of your opening hook. It doesn't have to be perfect yet, but having a strong first line gives you a target to write toward.

A great hook creates a question, establishes a voice, or drops the reader into tension. It can be a statement, a scene, a piece of dialogue, or an image. Try at least three versions and see which one pulls you forward. The best hook is the one that makes even you want to keep reading.

4. Know Who Else Is in the Chapter

Your protagonist rarely opens a novel alone. Think about who else appears in chapter one and why they are there. What is each character's relationship to the protagonist? What do they want in this scene? How do they affect the mood, the tension, or the direction of the story?

Secondary characters in chapter one often serve as mirrors, foils, or catalysts. Knowing their role before you write helps you give them purpose rather than just filling space. Even a minor character who appears for one page should feel like they belong in the scene.

5. Identify the Obstacle or Key Point of Chapter One

Every chapter needs a reason to exist. What is the central obstacle, conflict, or revelation of your first chapter? What happens that sets the story in motion? This doesn't have to be a dramatic explosion, but something must shift. The protagonist's world, understanding, or situation should be different at the end of chapter one than it was at the beginning.

Knowing your chapter's key point before you write it keeps you from drifting. It gives the chapter a destination, even if the path there surprises you.

6. Establish Your Point of View

Decide whose head you are in and how close you are to them. First person, third person limited, third person omniscient, second person — each creates a different reading experience and a different relationship between the reader and the story. Choose intentionally, not by default.

Also consider tense. Present tense creates immediacy. Past tense creates the feeling of a story being told. Once you commit to a point of view and tense, consistency matters. Knowing your choice before chapter one prevents you from having to rewrite everything later.

7. Define the World Your Story Lives In

Even if your novel is set in a contemporary city, your story has a world with its own rules, atmosphere, and logic. Before chapter one, spend time defining that world. What are the social dynamics? What does power look like? What is the cultural or historical context? What does everyday life feel like for the people who live there?

For fantasy, science fiction, or historical fiction, this step is essential. But even realistic fiction benefits from a writer who knows the world deeply, because that knowledge shows up in the details that make a story feel real.

8. Know Your Genre and Tone

Genre shapes reader expectations, and tone shapes the emotional experience of your story. Before you write, be clear about both. Is this a literary novel or a commercial thriller? A coming-of-age story or a dark psychological drama? Funny or devastating or both?

Knowing your genre and tone helps you make consistent choices about language, pacing, and structure. It also helps you identify the books that are closest to what you're writing, which is useful for both craft study and eventual querying or publishing.

9. Sketch the Story's Central Conflict

You don't need a full outline, but you should have a sense of the central conflict that will carry your novel from beginning to end. What is the core struggle? What does your protagonist want, what stands in the way, and what is at stake if they fail?

The central conflict is the spine of your novel. Everything else, the scenes, the subplots, the character arcs, hangs off it. Having a rough sense of that spine before chapter one keeps you from writing yourself into a corner 50 pages in.

10. Choose Where You Will Write It Down

This one sounds simple, but it matters more than most writers admit. Where will you keep your novel notes, your character bios, your scene sketches, your chapter plans? A dedicated space for your novel's planning material keeps everything in one place and makes it easy to return to your work between writing sessions.

The BoldlyWrite Novel Planner was designed for exactly this purpose. It gives writers a structured space to develop characters, map scenes, track plot threads, and plan chapters, all in one place, so you can spend less time searching for your notes and more time writing.

Final Thoughts

You don't have to answer all 10 of these questions perfectly before you start. Some writers need more structure; others need less. But the more intentional you are before chapter one, the more momentum you'll carry into chapter two, and the better your chances of finishing the novel you started.

The idea that sparked you is worth protecting. Give it the foundation it needs to grow.

Ready to plan your novel? The BoldlyWrite Novel Planner gives writers everything they need to develop characters, plan scenes, and organize their story from the first idea to the final chapter. Questions? Reach out at support@karinacadora.com.