The first line should get the ball rolling with a mighty shove. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. The first few lines should render a promise, pose a question, introduce conflict, or use some other such literary mechanism (the hook) that will inspire the reader to want to keep reading.
You cannot write for every individual on the planet, but to give your first page it's best chance at keeping your reader interested, you might want to employ these elements and techniques:
- provide an image or feeling of setting (context within the action)
- introduce your main character
- capture the reader’s attention with a narrative hook
Context within the action provides the reader with a sense of setting - where and when the story is taking place. Providing context for the action by identifying the setting establishes reader orientation and perspective. A reader who has to reread to get their bearing may lose enthusiasm for your story.
Generally your protagonist should make an appearance on the first page, and as with any character introduction, you should reveal their core characteristics. Introduce your characters with action. Describing what a character is doing or how they are reacting to a situation reveals aspects of their personality. Engaging characterization invokes reader feelings for the main character. Stated simply, we love to love our protagonist and loathe the antagonist. Characteristics such as clothing style, or an unusual physical condition are good characterization builders. The reader doesn't need to know details such as hair/eye color, height, and weight from page one (unless such details are critical to the current action).
A narrative hook is a literary technique used to engage or escalate reader interest. Common forms of a narrative hook are dramatic action, mysterious settings, interesting characterization, an engaging thematic statement, or a combination thereof. A narrative style known as in medias res, (“into the middle”) in which story-telling begins at a midpoint, rather than the beginning, can be used to hook the reader. Of these techniques, dramatic action or a combination of dramatic action and interesting characterization, are almost ubiquitous in fiction novel writing. Dramatic action invokes reader curiosity about what the consequences of the action will be.
The narrative hook may consist of several paragraphs, or several pages, but ideally, hooking elements will be included in first sentence. Hooking content is most effective if it is the focus of something important, particularly if it involves a major (or very interesting) life event: relationship, separation, employment, dismissal, sex or the refusal of sexual favors, survival, physical danger, death, and so on.
Using these essential story-telling techniques, you will have provided the reader with an interest in seeing what happens next. As readers reach the bottom of the page, hopefully they will be eager to turn to the next one.
Here is an example first page that fits on A5 size (from the first draft of my first novel) in its own 11th draft form. Decide for yourself whether if satisfies the qualities I have described, and leave a comment to let me know if by the time you finished reading, you wanted to read more.
Chapter 1
My usual morning begins with smacking the snooze-button of my alarm clock-radio some number of times until being awake doesn't feel so utterly hateful. The antics of the morning talk-show filters past my resistance to waking and reels me into a groggy giggle; not a wholly unpleasant way to start a morning actually. The anticipation of my first cup of coffee motivates me to move my feet from under warm covers to the cold hardwood floor. But this morning, the last of my nocturnal adventures dissolved peacefully with the onset of consciousness and the dawning perception of traffic noise from the street below my window. The air in my room reeked of old coffee that sat too long on the burner – not the pot of joy it would have been two hours before. The clock-radio was silently flashing its bright red digits. Kicking and throwing covers in the air, I scrambled to my feet and hit the cluttered bedroom floor running. I skipped over boots, books, and what-not as I headed for the bedroom door that opened to the hallway.
There was no sight or sounds of roommates downstairs, and the bathroom door at the end of the hall was open. I gathered up my jeans, sniffed out the cleanest shirt, and quickly skip-walked in my T-shirt and boy’s briefs across the creaky hallway floor. I had no idea what time it was, but judging by the volume of traffic noise outside, I made the logical presumption that I would be late.
* * *
Here are some links to articles discussing first line, first page, and first chapters …
How To Write The First Sentence
Grab The Reader From Page One
Introducing Your Protagonist
Storyville: Narative Hooks
The 3 C’s of Writing The First Page of Your Novel
The First Chapter of Your Novel
Cheers, and happy writing!
