Tran: 1

Thien Tran

Miss Roche

ENL1WI-05

May 28, 2024

How Authors Hook Readers with Just One Chapter

Great novels nearly always have an opening chapter that captures the reader’s interest.

The first chapter should engage readers, introduce the protagonist, and provide a window into the

world of their story. A strong story opening immediately makes readers want to know more. The

author tantalizes the audience with incomplete knowledge, whether it be with bold statements or

setting the path for events to come; opening chapters seek to pique readers’ interest so that they

will be hooked into reading the rest of the story. Authors use engaging techniques to persuade

and hook readers through opening chapters. This is revealed through the elements of suspense,

theme, and character.

In the opening chapter of Crabbe, William Bell engages readers by establishing suspense,

through sparking curiosity. In the opening chapter, the protagonist Franklin Crabbe is in a psych

ward because he ran away from home, also they do not know what to do with him. Franklin has a

smoking problem and has been talking to Dr. Browne, a supporting character in this chapter. An

example of sparking curiosity would be on page 17 where it states, “I think our time is up, Dr.

Browne,” I cut in. I leaned over and banged my pipe in the ashtray to get the ashes out. I’d had

enough of this crap. His pudgy face grew redder, like a round thermometer splashed in hot water.
 Tran: 2

“Don’t interrupt me. And sit down in the chair.” Browne had never been like this before. His

professional calm evaporated. He was becoming human before my eyes. But I’d had enough. My

control was slipping too.” (Bell, 17) The reason why this quote sparks curiosity is because the

author establishes curiosity by giving a few examples of Frank and Mr. Browne’s relationship so

far. Still, Mr. Browne was acting differently, being angry because, in that quote, it states, “His

pudgy face grew redder, like a round thermometer splashed in hot water. “Don’t interrupt me.

And sit down in the chair.” also the readers wonder if Frank and Dr. Browne will argue, due to

the last sentence of the quote, “My control was slipping too.” Also, they want to keep reading to

see if they have a good relationship that can be fixed. In conclusion, William Bell establishes

suspense by sparking curiosity yet this is not the only way to create a brilliant opening chapter.

In the opening chapter of Boy 21, Matthew Quick engages readers by establishing

character, through conflict. In the opening chapter, the protagonist Finley plays basketball to

cope with his grandfather, and eventually Finley becomes friends with Erin, a supporting

character. To demonstrate why conflict is great for an opening chapter, take a look at this quote:

“I kept shooting and hoped that she’d go away. Her name was Erin and she seemed really nice,

but I didn’t want to make friends with anyone. I only wanted to shoot hoops alone for the rest of

my life. “Are you ignoring me?” she asked. I tried to pretend she wasn’t there, because back then

I was pretending the whole world wasn’t there.” (Quick, 2 and 3) The reason why this quote has

conflict is because near the end of the quote, where it states “ I tried to pretend she wasn’t there,

because back then I was pretending the whole world wasn’t there.”, this means that Finley does

not want to be social just wants to be alone, in other words this conflict is known as Person vs.
 Tran: 3

Society because Finley wants to be by himself. Also, this engages the reader and wonders to

themselves why Finley wants to be with himself and why he hates social interaction. To

summarize, conflict strengthens the opening chapter due to the readers wanting to learn more

about the conflict but still, there is one way to strengthen an opening chapter.

In the opening chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J. K. Rowling

engages readers by establishing the element of theme through conflict. For context, in the

opening chapter, The Dursley family has to take care of Harry, who is Mrs. Dursley’s nephew

because his parents died but Mrs. Dursley hates her sister. To show an example of the conflict

being present, take a look at this quote: “Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr.

Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he’d heard the name ‘Potter’. ‘Their son – he’d be

about Dudley’s age now, wouldn’t he?’ ‘I suppose so,’ said Mrs Dursley stiffly. ‘What’s his name

again, Howard, isn’t it?’ ‘Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me.’ ‘Oh yes,’ said Mr

Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. ‘Yes, I quite agree.’ He didn’t say another word on the subject

as they went upstairs to bed.” (Rowling, 11) The reason why this quote is shown is that the

theme based on this quote could be that hatred can be hurtful, shown in this part of the quote,

‘Oh yes,’ said Mr Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. ‘Yes, I quite agree.’ This engages the

readers to wonder if the hatred is going to get worse over time. In other words, J. K. Rowling

creates a great theme in an opening chapter, even though there are more ways to add something

to get a great opening chapter, these three ways are the most effective.

Suspense, character, and theme reveal the methods and techniques through which authors

engage readers to hook them with just an opening chapter. To reiterate the points shown, in the
 Tran: 4

opening chapter of Crabbe, William Bell entices the readers by invoking suspense by sparking

curiosity which supports the argument due to the readers to keep reading to know what will

happen next. In the opening chapter of Boy 21, Matthew Quick entices the readers by invoking

the element of character by conflict which supports the argument again because the readers want

to know what will happen to the main character in future chapters. In the opening chapter of

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling entices the reader by invoking the

element of theme by conflict which supports the argument because the readers wonder if the

same theme is going to happen in future chapters. In conclusion, the elements of suspense,

character, and theme truly make an opening chapter outstanding.