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

Move Quickly With Action

A lot of times new writers make the mistake of giving too much backstory and introspection on the first few pages of their novel. Their thinking is that they want the reader to be invested in their character’s motives, and they want to give a believable backstory. They also might want to start world building right away. While these are all important elements of a novel, they should come later on, once your reader is hooked. Very rarely are readers hooked with exposition. Readers want action.

Explain The Status Quo

Here’s the tricky thing. While you want to have plenty of action, you also want to give a sense of the status quo. That way when you have your inciting incident in a few pages, your readers will understand and appreciate the shock. If you can effectively show what peace is like for the character, your reader will react more sympathetic to the character’s plight when that peace is upturned. And speaking of the inciting incident…