How do you open a fantasy novel with action without confusing the reader?
In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins sits down with new fiction author Malcolm Coon to work through the opening of Malcolm's fantasy heist novel.
Malcolm has built an epic fantasy world loosely inspired by a D&D world he created with his brother when they were kids. Now he is turning that world into a story about couriers, rooftops, rebellion, hidden danger, and a young character being pulled into something much bigger than himself.
The craft problem starts with the very first scene.
Malcolm wants to open with movement, danger, and a rooftop chase. But he also wants readers to understand the world, care about the character, and know what kind of story they are stepping into.
That creates the central question of the episode:
How do you balance action, tension, worldbuilding, and character emotion in the opening pages?
Jeff and Malcolm dig into the difference between starting with action and starting with high pressure. They talk about why a solo chase scene can be hard to make emotionally engaging, how reflective prose can slow tension, and why sometimes the better opening is not "start with danger," but "start with joy, then interrupt it."
They also get into practical craft tools writers can use immediately, including:
How to keep a chase scene at ground level
Why trigger should come before response
How backstory can rob an action scene of tension
When inner thought works in third-person close POV
Why a character's "brain voice" has to be treated like another character
How to use internal reflection at emotional turning points
Why mentor characters need clear emotional pressure
How supporting characters can reveal the protagonist's growth arc
When to use an anchor character to show the path the hero must reject
How to make an opposing POV feel like the hero of their own story
As the conversation expands, Jeff and Malcolm move from scene-level edits into the larger architecture of the novel. They talk about Pep, a young courier looking for purpose, identity, belonging, and participation; Saul, the protective uncle figure who understands the cost of rebellion; and Maddie, the mysterious courier who pulls Pep toward the mission.
This episode is especially helpful for fantasy writers, adventure writers, heist writers, and anyone revising an opening chapter that has cool movement but not enough emotional clarity yet.
Listen in if you are trying to figure out how to hook readers, introduce your world, build tension, reveal character, and make your first chapter do more than simply start fast.
Because a great opening scene does not just move.
It teaches the reader what kind of story they are about to love.
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