Help with revising first chapter

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Okay. I have a good prologue that catches the readers attention, but unfortunately, chapter one doesn't. I have writers block and I can't think of what to do. Here's what I need to happen:
Show what main character's school life is like.
Introduce his friend.
Mention a couple people for later.

Looks simple, but how can I do this AND make it exciting?
Also, I strongly dislike writer's block!!!
I don't know what you can do to help, but any advice is welcome! :)
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I think the opening is the hardest part of the novel. I went through upward of ten drafts and several writers' groups before I hit on one that gets consistently good responses. So if your opening isn't so great, keep revising it.

My instinct when I read your description of what your chapter one should achieve is that it sounds dull. I'm not sure how you can pull that off and make it exciting. Setup is like a weight that you have to carry, and the less setup you have, the lighter and more streamlined the story is. Perhaps if you moved up the inciting incident so that the plot kicks in in chapter one, the story would read better? But without reading the chapter in question I'm not sure.




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Okay, like Karsten said, I can't help all that much without reading your chapter, but I'll do my best. One thing I like to do in first chapter is put in something that isn't all that important to the plot but introduces characters, personalities and surroundings. I try to make it fun or humourous or even sad, just so that the reader feels for the characters in some way. Or you could have a bit of tension and have a cliff hanger so that even turning a page will have the reader go AHH! I love it when that happens in books (as long as it isn't at the end.)
Oh! Another thing that always keeps my attention when begining a book- mystery. Not like "Who is the murderer?!" more like, "what the heck is going on here?". I like to be dropped into a situation that's already in full bloom and have to figure out what they're talking about. Of course, authors always make it clear eventually but still I like to try and figure it out before they tell me this.
Another thing: I hear alot on this site about trouble with chapters and it always strikes me as odd. See, I find it nearly immpossible to write in chapters. I write out a story in...scenes, I guess. You know what I mean? Like, I want this and that to happen and they have to happen in a certain order and there has to be a break between. Not i want this to happen in this chapter and that in another. CHapters put too much pressure on me. If that's how they affect you maybe lay off the chapter and simply put a couple of lines in between scenes to show time elapsed.
I hope this helped and sorry if it didn't or if it didn't make any sense at all.

(I realized that maybe you would like an example so... I started one novella with the main character, Lyric, going to art class. Her teacher is also the home-ec teacher and was cooking spaghetti. Lyric's best friend, Roman, comes in and there's a big to-do about him being allergic to tomatoes. I kept it humorous in the way the teacher reacted- she totally spazzed out. And I had Lyric remembering the last time Roman had an allergic reation to tomatoes- thus introducing their other friends, Lyric and Roman's relationship as best friends that are strongly attatched to each other, Lyric's and Roman's individual way of dealing with strained situations, and it also allowed me to fill in a little info on Roman's family. Oh, and I had a bit of mystery when Roman leaves the room and Lyric follows- because she crushes into a strange girl while looking for him.)
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You can check out this article for some tips.
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Ah! I know exactly how you feel except then I didn't have a hooking prologue :)

My suggestion to you is just write the first chapter. Plain out, no matter how stupid or undescriptive it sounds. It doesn't even have to be hooking or make any sense! As long as it's out of the way. Do all that you want done in it and then leave it and continue writing on in your story.

When you get to know your characters more and they begin to take over the story, and you begin to realize what your story really is about, then go back and rewrite the first chapter. It still can sound stupid and silly, but it'll be better than before because you really know what to write.

That is what I did and I'm proud of my first two chapters, whom I hated so much before. The more you rewrite, the better it sounds every time. So just keep plugging at it and before you know it, you'll have a hooking, descriptive first chapter in which everything/one is introduced.

Good luck!
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