Skip the backstory dump at the start. Readers hook on a clear disruption and a real reaction to it, like a gas station robbery. Once they're engaged, they'll want the history later.
Chapters
You do not need backstory to hook your reader, and I can prove it. You believe you have to set the stage before anything interesting can happen in your writing, so you pile in backstory. You explain the character's childhood, the town, the job, the relationships, what happened last week at work, because you think the reader needs all that context to understand the scene. But here's the truth: the reader needs almost nothing to get hooked. Imagine you walk into a gas station, and in front of you, a man points a gun at the woman behind the counter and says, "Give me wallet, and she steps back and tells him to go to hell. Now, do you need to hear the backstory to find that interesting? Do you need to know where he grew up? Do you need to know why he's doing this? No, you immediately want to know what happens next. And that's the whole point, right? A disruption plus an honest reaction. That's all it takes. And you're instantly leaning in wondering what happens next. And it doesn't just go for life-threatening scenes. Anytime anything interesting happens around you in life, you never ever know the backstory. You're dropped into the drama and you're immediately hooked. That is how your scenes should open. An interesting disruption and a real reaction to it. The backstory can come later, if at all. Once the reader is already hooked, then they're invested and they want to know what happens next. When you frontload all that context, you are not helping the reader understand. You are delaying the exact moment that would have hooked them and they've already gotten bored. And moved on to another writer. So look at your opening, cut the setup, and start with the disruption. If you want to go deeper into this, I've got a free training that will help you finally write and publish a book that you're proud of. Just put the word workshop down in the comments and I'll see you there.
