Unpicking your first page

From judging competitions, overseeing writer’s editorial services, being keen bookworms and writers of books ourselves, we’ve read a lot of first pages. There are many ways to tackle the opening of your story, so how do you make an informed decision that best suits your story?

First, let’s go back to basics.

The first page makes a promise to the reader. (So does the blurb, cover and pitch – but that’s another story for another day.) The opening lines tell the reader ‘this is what you’re getting yourself into’ and asks ‘do you want to come along for the ride?’

When a reader is deciding whether they want to spend approximately 8-10 hours or 300+ pages with your book, you want to make the best first impression. So, how do we do it?

Our most important piece of advice? Save something for later.

Consistently, we hear agents and publishers turn down submissions that contain too much, too soon.

It’s important to remember that stories are built from units of change. A reader wants (and expects) to see new details emerge, for the characters to evolve and reveal hidden sides of themselves.

By parcelling out information and aspects of your character, you can not only strike the balance between hooking your reader’s attention and overwhelming them, but you can offer them something new throughout the story.

Trust your reader. Let information unspool slowly and with care.

What is your opening image?

This first moment should achieve several things for your story:

• Establish normalcy. What does this world look like on this particular day? What stage is the character at in their own life?
• Establish a tension or instability, something that signals change is not only coming, it is necessary to the story. What challenges does the character face? Note: we’re not saying the change or inciting incident need to happen right away, but there should be signs, even if your character is unaware of them.

With this in mind, have a think about the moment you have chosen to start your story. Why now? If it doesn’t achieve the above, consider how you can adjust the timeline to capture your reader’s attention. And remember the advice: start late, finish early.

Now we’ve chosen our first moment, ask yourself are you ‘telling’ what you could ‘show’?

Full disclaimer, we believe that the ‘show don’t tell’ rule can be unhelpful to writers when followed blindly. Both are tools and have their purpose within a novel. Debi Alper’s Psychic Distance masterclass is an essential watch for all writers, but especially those wanting to understand the push and pull between show and tell.

Another way of talking about show and tell is scene versus summary.

A scene is in real-time. It is action, on the spot reflection, (and if you aren’t telling the story in 1st person and present tense, a narrator’s commentary but for more on this do go and watch Debi’s masterclass).

Narrative summary is exactly as described. It is writing that spans time in the story and it might include specific details and dialogue (and we think that it should contain both to create strong visual images in the reader’s mind).

For the opening of a novel you want to immerse your reader efficiently. This means, by providing enough detail to snag their attention, but not too much that you run the risk of overwhelming your reader with too much story, information or worldbuilding all at once.

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A scene is an excellent way to do this, but before we dive in let’s look at some examples.

Pick up a few books that you’ve already read (so you are aware of the full narrative shape, and crucially, how it ends) and see how they open. Do they begin with scenes? Do any begin with summary instead?

Look at an example that starts with summary and think about why you think the author chose to do this. Are they using a retrospective point of view, with the narrator is looking back on events from afar and capturing a period of time? How long do they do this before moving into a scene? As you might find, there are plenty of books that open with narrative summary and do it well.

The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson begins with small sections of narrative summary told in quick succession. It breaks lots of ‘rules’ but with good reason that suits the style, the genre and the story being told.

Through quick glimpses into this world, the reader gains an instant and rich impression of the story we are about to step into. There is no info-dumping or heavy world-building, tension and impending change is established, and we are left wanting to know more.

If you want to take a look for yourself, you can view a sample of The Principle of Moments over on Amazon here.

Remember, if it makes sense for your story and engages readers, there are no rules to what you can and can’t do.

Now, we’ve discussed why you might begin by summarising events (though we caution against it as it is difficult to do well), let’s end with a brief note about scenes.

Find a book that opens with a scene.

What do you learn about the world the story takes place in? It doesn’t need to be set in a fantasy land or another planet, it can be a world similar to our own, but crucially, it’ll be dramatized by the author in a deliberate way.

As you read, note down what information you learn about the world. How do they deliver this information? Has the author trusted you to draw any conclusions? Are you left with questions or wanting to find out more?

Are there specific details that the author draw your attention to? If you know how the book ends, why do you think this is?

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We hope this helps you consider how you open your novel in a more meaningful and deliberate way.