You’ve defeated writer’s block, you’ve come up with a brilliant idea and you’re ready to write a novel. It’s outlined (or not) and you know exactly where it’s going (or not). The best thing you can do is get started right away, but first you’ll need three things (aside from snacks and a whole lot of motivation).

1. A reason.

When you’re writing your first chapter, ask yourself, Why does the story start today? Wherever you decide to begin your novel, there has to be a reason for choosing that particular starting point. Sending your main character to the store to get bread isn’t a good place to begin a novel…unless the bread is the key to saving the world. Is it the last loaf of bread on Earth? Will your character actually get sidetracked on the way to the store and end up stumbling across a portal to a different dimension? No matter the scenario, you need a valid reason as to why your novel begins where it does.

2. Conflict.

You can’t have a novel without a major problem. While minor conflicts can and should play their own roles in your novel, what’s the main conflict? This should be introduced early on, if not in the very first chapter. If your main character goes to the store and gets bread without having any issues, there’s not much of a story to tell and readers aren’t going to be concerned about what happens to the main character; shake it up from the get-go! Connect your readers with the characters to the point that they’re completely invested in learning about what happens to them and why. The main conflict is what will keep readers hooked, and they’ll want to see it through until the very end.

3. Plot pressure.

What’s the ticking clock? While this doesn’t necessarily need to be taken literally, readers should feel concerned or worried for the characters by the end of the first chapter. How is the main character going to save the world with a loaf of bread? This uncertainty about whether the characters will succeed and the curiosity about how they’ll try to do so is what will make readers turn the page to the second chapter.

Alas, you now have all the ingredients you need in order to begin your novel…you brought your own plot and characters, right?