A character can be likable and interesting—and still feel flat on the page.

If you've spent any time reading writing advice, you've almost certainly heard it: show, don't tell.

Writers put a lot of thought into their opening chapters. We revise the first paragraph, polish the opening page, and try to find just the right way into the story. But there are really two separate moments in that first chapter that deserve our attention—the opening page and the closing line.

If you’ve been writing for a while, there will inevitably be a point in the life of a story when something you once loved loses its luster. You had a vision, you started executing that vision, then it fell flat. The character who seemed so vivid suddenly feels predictable. The plot that excited you when you first imagined it is now full of holes. You read a chapter you once loved and find yourself wondering how you ever thought it was good.