10 Things You Should Have On The First Page Of Your Novel

Indicate POV And Voice

Point of view (POV) and voice are what will shape the tone of your story, so choose carefully. Which character will tell this story? Who has the strongest emotional connection to the theme? Will this be told in first person? Close third person? Or possibly as an omniscient narrator that simply follows the life and choices of the main character.

Hint At A Theme

This will be a subtle hint at the theme, but it should appear on the first page should any readers choose to go back and re-read your novel. A good rule of thumb is to write out your theme as a thesis statement. Then pick out a few keywords, and rewrite it in a new way. Repeat this process a few times, and you’ll get a feel for what words keep coming up. Redemption, futility, belonging, etc. From these keywords, pick one and think of an image that will symbolize it in the first page. Redemption is often symbolized with water (think baptism, cleansing) or a butterfly (change from one stage to another through struggle).