You've heard that your first chapter has to hook the reader. But the hook isn't your trope setup or your meet cute. It's a glimpse of who your hero is underneath, and it shows up as a choice they make when the story is barely getting started. In episode 16, I'm breaking down what that glimpse looks like and how to test whether your early pages are giving readers enough reason to stick around.

You'll learn:

• The tiny choice your hero needs to make in their first scene that gives your reader a hint at what they're afraid of
• How "too perfect" heroes in the early chapters become the cardboard characters readers complain about in reviews
• The Bridgerton Season 3 scene that shows how powerful a tool body language can be (yes, even in text)
• A three-question checklist you can use right now to test whether your first chapter is risking DNFs (Did Not Finish reviews) from your readers

This 25-minute episode is for romance writers who are worried that your opening chapters aren't strong enough or that you're giving away too much about your hero too soon in the story (hint: you're probably not!).

And at the end, I give you a simple checklist to test whether your hero's first scenes give readers a reason to keep turning pages.

Resources from this episode:

• Workshop: Cake, Not Chaos: The Moment To Moment Method (replay inside E2E) → suebrownmoore.com/enemies-to-experts
• Live workshop: The 8-Scene Story Setup: Book your group’s private workshop with Sue today! → hi.suebrownmoore.com/8SSS
• Community: Join Enemies to Experts → suebrownmoore.com/enemies-to-experts
• More Resources: Learn from Sue at your own pace → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/learn
• Brennan Lee Mulligan: Sit back and listen to Brennan Lee Mulligan—one of the greatest storytellers of our generation—talk about how an unpredictable life has shaped a phenomenally interesting and unstoppable career on this interview with Hank Green on the Study Hall YouTube channel: “How DnD Became a Career: Brennan Lee Mulligan’s College Journey” → https://podcast.suebrownmoore.com/meetbrennan

• The 8-Scene Story Setup: Book your live group workshop with Sue
• The Brennan Lee Mulligan interview - Sit back and listen to Brennan Lee Mulligan—one of the greatest storytellers of our generation—talk about how an unpredictable life has shaped a phenomenally interesting and unstoppable career on this interview with Hank Green on the Study Hall YouTube channel: “How DnD Became a Career: Brennan Lee Mulligan’s College Journey” (https://podcast.suebrownmoore.com/meetbrennan)
• Enemies To Experts™ - Learn more about the Enemies To Experts™ program with Sue Brown-Moore. Because falling in love with your manuscript starts with understanding it.
• More resources - Learn from Sue at your own pace at podcast.suebrownmoore.com/learn

Subscribe to the Story Sorcery® podcast with Sue Brown-Moore on your favorite podcast app to never miss an episode.