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  • Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter (Fall 2025)

Fall 2025

Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter

In this Journey, we’ll tackle one of the most daunting parts of novel writing: the opening chapter. Participants will explore how to hook readers while establishing character, setting, and stakes—asking big questions like where to begin and how to share key details without overload. Whether starting fresh or revising a draft, writers will gain tools to craft impactful, memorable openings.

Learning Objectives

Master the Key Elements of a Strong Opening

Learn how to craft a compelling hook, introduce characters, set the scene, and raise the stakes—all within your first chapter.

Develop Rich, Motivated Characters

Explore techniques to establish character depth and motivation early in your story.

Build Strong Settings and Stakes

Use limited space to create a vivid world and high-stakes tension that draws readers in.

Choose the Right Starting Point

Identify where your story should begin to immediately capture interest and momentum.

Balance Exposition and Tension

Revise your opening pages to keep readers engaged without overwhelming them.

Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter Community Experiences

Mentees and mentors in this Journey are required to attend the monthly Journey Meetings and one Journey Workshop listed below.

  • Saturday, November 15, 2025, 1 pm ET
  • Saturday, December 13, 2025, 1 pm ET
  • Saturday, January 24, 2026, 1 pm ET

Query Letter Workshop:

  • Tuesday January 27, 2026, 4:30 pm ET

If you’re unable to attend a Journey meeting, you must notify your Staff Lead in advance and attend a community event to make up for it—strongly recommended options include Community Studios and Salon Experiences.

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Journey Circle: Community

Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter Courses

First Pages That Grip: Writing the Opening Chapter
This course is designed to guide you through the essential elements of a powerful opening chapter. Through short lessons, writing prompts, and examples from published works, you’ll explore how to develop complex characters, set up stakes, establish a vivid setting, and create a strong hook—all within the first few pages. Whether you’re drafting something new or revising existing work, this course will help you gain confidence and clarity in your storytelling.

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Writing

Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter Mentoring

Mentees and mentors in this Journey will be matched for one cycle. Pairs will meet for at least two hour-long sessions each month. This journey is open to both Mentor/Mentee pairs and Peer-to-Peer pairs.

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Journey Teaching Artist

Jennifer L. Brown

(she/her) Alum, Mentor

Jennifer L. Brown is an author of middle grade and young adult novels. She spent many years as a performer, working in theatres across the country in plays ranging from contemporary musicals to Shakespeare. When not writing, she tutors standardized tests, English, and essay writing. Her novel won a space in an intensive mentoring program called Pitch Wars in the fall of 2017. She has served as a mentor in that same program for the last four years. Her writing is represented by Alyssa Jennette at Stonesong Literary.

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Chiamaka Okafor

Mentee

Chiamaka Okafor is an undergraduate university student who considers herself a multi-passionate creative, with a strong passion for reading and writing. She enjoys a lot of fantasy, sci-fi, and nonfiction. She has been a part of GWN as a mentee for over three years. Chiamaka loves writing stories at any chance she gets, and when she is not reading, watching TV, or studying (of course 😉 ), she also enjoys drawing, researching, and learning languages.

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Author Page Photo

Journeys in the Multigenre 360 Adventure focus on writing in a particular genre. It is perfect for mentees and mentors who want to focus on a specific kind of creative writing.

Hooked on Fiction: Crafting Your First Chapter is a Journey in the Multigenre 360 Adventure.

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From Page to Production: Screenwriting for Short Films (Part 1) (Fall 2026)

This two-cycle Journey guides participants from crafting a short film script to bringing it to life on screen. In the first cycle, mentors and mentees focus on developing compelling stories, dynamic characters, and engaging dialogue, learning the essentials of screenwriting for short films. In the second cycle, participants move from script to screen, exploring the practical aspects of video production, including planning, collaboration, and bringing their creative vision to life. By the end of the journey, mentees will have both a polished script and hands-on experience in producing their own short film.

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Life Lines: Crafting Memoir and Nonfiction (Paid Adult Version) (Fall 2026)

In this three-cycle Journey, writers will get the support and expert industry insight they need to write their memoir. In the first three-month cycle, participants will outline, structure their book, and begin their first drafts; in the second three-month cycle, participants will write and workshop their drafts; and in the third cycle, participants will finish their drafts and write their book proposals.

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