Chuuya’s So Funny Because He Literally Shows Up To Do The Bare Minimum (unless Dazai Is Involved).

What's your advice on writing a strong, solid chapter one? Something that will grab the reader's attention and make them beg on their knees for more?

Tips for Writing a Strong First Chapter

Note: in the examples, I’m using the second chapter as Harry Potter rather than the first, which was really more of a prologue.

1. Create a “snapshot” of your character’s normal life…

One of the most important things you can do in the first chapter is give your reader a sort of “snapshot” of your character’s life before the the inciting incident turns everything upside down. Otherwise, if we don’t know what their life is like before everything changes, the inciting incident won’t be a change. It’ll just be something that happens.

In Twilight, we saw Bella being the run-of-the-mill daughter of divorced parents. In Harry Potter, we saw Harry being the unwanted and much-maligned ward of muggle relatives, while struggling with emerging wizard powers. In Star Wars, we saw Luke being the bored farm boy, longing for heroism and adventure. In The Hunger Games, we saw Katniss taking care of her mom and sister by hunting for extra food for them with Gale.

2. Show us who they are–show us their strengths and their flaws…

Most stories feature a protagonist who changes in someway throughout the course of the story. This is the character arc, and it can either be positive (the most common) or negative. Positive story arcs stem from the character’s flaws that are established at the beginning of the story. While they have strengths, too, it’s the flaws that dominate and make their lives such a mess that the reader is anxious to see how their lives will change. The character will overcome those flaws through the events of the story, so in the end the reader can marvel at how far they’ve come and how much better their lives are as a result of this change. In a negative arc, it works in the exact opposite way. Sometimes there are static arcs, where the character doesn’t change but changes someone around them or their environment, and sometimes you get a little hybrid of both.

In Twilight, we see a girl who’s a little selfish, a little closed off, and very codependent. In The Hunger Games, we see a girl who feels helpless against the oppressive government making her life, and the lives of everyone she cares about, a living hell. In Star Wars, we see a boy who’s cocky and idealistic.

3. Show us who and what matters in their world…

Another important element that should be introduced in the first chapter is who and what matters to the main character. These are the initial stakes–the thing that motivates them into action when the world turns upside down. In some cases, the world turns upside down because something happened to them.

In Twilight, we meet Bella’s mom and dad, but in many ways, the absence of anyone else here is part of what serves as motivation for Bella to want her life to change and to want to belong to something bigger than herself. It’s much the same in Harry Potter, where the only people who really matter to him are people who died when he was a baby. In The Hunger Games, we meet Katniss’s mom and sister, her best friend Gale, and we learn about Katniss’s father and Gale’s family, and the boy with the bread. In Star Wars, we meet Luke’s Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.

4. Show us their world…

Part of the point of the inciting incident is that it’s going to change the known world for the main character. This really dovetails with #1, because their normal life happens within this world. In some stories, a character’s “world” might be their work and home life or their home and school life. In other stories, their “world” might be the small village they live in and the plagued-by-evil-king kingdom the village is a part of. 

In Twilight, Bella’s world was uprooted right at the beginning and exchanged for the tiny, perpetually overcast town of Forks, Washington. In The Hunger Games, Katniss’s world was District Twelve and the oppressive Capitol beyond. In Star Wars, Luke’s world was a moisture farm on the desert planet of Tatooine, part of a larger Civil War-wracked galaxy.

5. Start the story when something interesting is happening…

We often hear the advice “start in the middle of the action” or “begin the story with action” and this is often misinterpreted, either to mean you should start with the inciting incident or start with a big car chase or heart-pounding battle. Neither of which is true. Beginning the story with action just means you should start the story with something interesting happening rather than with a big info dump. That doesn’t mean you can’t include exposition in your opening, but weave the exposition into something interesting happening.

In Twilight, the story opens with Bella being dropped off at the airport by her mom so that she can move to Washington to live with her dad. In The Hunger Games, the story opens with Katniss getting ready to go hunting with Gale, then walking through her district on her way to meet him. In Harry Potter, we see Harry and the Dursleys getting ready for Dudley’s birthday party.

If you hit all five of these points in your first chapter, not only can you be sure to create a strong first chapter from which to launch the rest of your story, you can be sure your reader will have everything they need to start getting invested in your main character and the world around them. :)

the fact that adam is the one who tells us "[Ronan's] code of honor left no room for infidelity, for casual relationships. it wasn't that he didn't condone them; he couldn't understand them." will forever get me like adam is always reiterating ronan's capacity for love and intense devotion without even knowing that he PRAYED FOR HIM ON FIRST SIGHT.... & then he takes the time to completely process that before allowing himself to be with ronan (this didn't feel like a game and ASKING GANSEY ABT LOVE AFTER THEIR FIRST KISS) knowing how badly he wanted to accept it but wanting to be sure that he could return it. he approaches it differently but every bit as seriously as ronan does. bc it means so much to both of them, it isn't a game, they both know what this will be if they let it. who has he ever had to love him ever adam parrish is loved by someone that he himself has described multiple times as being intensely and singularly dedicated to what he loves, and expressing that love without restraint on a level adam marvels at. it is literally like nothing adam has ever known and every ounce of it is directed right at him.

making bad art and dressing weirdly and collecting random things and listening to silly music is actually so important

i get a little bit of free time and start going "what if i taught myself woodworking" girl work on ur resume

'If you don't like graffiti look away like you do for genocide"

Seen in Austin, Texas

me in my head at the supermarket: nobody is ever going to fucking love me. omg 25% off

autumn in art [winter]

vincent van gogh / natasha tarasova / arthur rackham / john william waterhouse / carl friedrich deiker / jasper francis cropsey / john atkinson grimshaw / loré pemberton

wolfstar ‘eternal sunshine of the spotless mind’ au

By likeafunerall, and reposted with permission.

Love as Acceptance

Caitlyn Siehl // Leonard Cohen, "Anthem" // Rumi, "Bitterweet" // trans. Anne Carson, "Euripides" // Sade Andria Zabala, "Coffee and Cigarettes" // tumblr acct @/gayassnatural // Anne Carson, "H of H Playbook" // William Shakespeare, "Sonnet 116" // Clementine von Radics, "Mouthful of Forevers" // Toni Morrison, "Jazz"

This is a big, giant list of Youtube tutorials that will teach you all the basic life skills you need to know in order to be a functional adult. There are a lot of important skills that aren’t included in this list, but this should be enough of a basic guide to get you started and prevent you from making a total mess of yourself. Happy adulting! Household Skills:

How to unclog a toilet without a plunger

How to fix a blown fuse

How to fix a leaky faucet 

How to clean soap scum from your tub and shower

How to escape from a house fire

How to make a budget and stick to it

How to sharpen a knife

How to clean a self-cleaning oven

How to clean red wine stains from carpet

How to clean blood stains from fabric

How to clean grease stains from fabric

How to do a load of laundry

How to iron your clothes

How to test your smoke detectors

Cooking Skills:

How to tell if produce is ripe

How to know if food is expired 

How to properly sanitize a kitchen

How to cook an egg

How to make rice

How to make pasta

How to put out a kitchen grease fire safely

How to use a gas stove

How to use a convection oven

How to cook meat safely

How to use a stand mixer

How to use kitchen knives properly

How to make mashed potatoes

How to make grilled cheese sandwiches 

Health Skills:

How to stop bleeding

How to treat a burn 

How to do CPR (on an adult)

How to do CPR (on a child)

How to do CPR (on a baby)

How to help someone who is choking

How to save yourself if you are choking alone

How to read a nutrition label

How to treat frostbite

How to recognize when someone is having a stroke

How to maintain a healthy sleep schedule

Mental Health Skills:

How to calm down during a panic attack

How to help someone who is suicidal 

How to meditate 

How to stop self-harming

How to recognize problem drinking

How to choose a therapist

How to deal with disappointment

How to cope with grief

How to raise your self-esteem

Relationship and Social Skills:

How to apologize

How to cope with a breakup 

How to accept criticism 

How to deal with bullying 

How to argue in a healthy way

How to ask someone out

How to break up with someone

How to recognize an abusive relationship

How to rekindle a damaged friendship

How to speak in public

Job Hunting Skills:

How to tie a tie

How to write a resume

How to write a cover letter

How to dress for a job interview (for women/femmes)

How to dress for a job interview (for men/masculines)

How to properly shake hands

How to nail a job interview

Other Skills:

How to sew on a button 

How to hammer a nail

How to change your oil

How to put gas in your car

How to jump-start a car

How to pick a good password

How to back up your files

How to write a cheque