Well, what about the first paragraph of new chapters later on in that novel? Aren't they pretty important, too? I've always thought so. I've always seen first paragraphs as a challenge to KEEP the reader. Hopefully, yes, my opening-chapter paragraph "hooked" them. But I think it's my responsibility to keep them on the line. And one way I like to do that is to try and make opening paragraphs of new chapters (or even new scenes) fresh and interesting. Creative. I try to work almost as hard on those other "first" paragraphs as I did on that first-chapter paragraph.
Plus, when I start out a chapter or scene in a fresh, exciting way, that makes me excited about the material, and I feel more energized. I try hard never to have a bland or mediocre "first" paragraph anywhere, in the hopes that I'll keep up the level of creativity in every chapter of the novel. Not easy, not always do-able, but it's always my goal.
I remember reading Nathan Bransford's book on writing, and at the time it seemed impossible to think that every paragraph in a novel had to be as great as the first one. But it's quite true.
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