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This isn’t a secret in the publishing world, in fact, it’s why writers spend so much time and effort making that first 250 gleam. But I think, sometimes, writers don’t fully realize everything that the first 250 words of their manuscript tells readers, whether they intend them to or not.
So here we go.
- This is my protagonist. Regardless of whether or not your opening page starts with your actual protagonist, readers will assume the first character they meet is indeed your protagonist. Later pages will confirm or disprove that assumption, but by and large, this is what readers will think.
This is also the first point of connection for your readers—they're immediately going to be making judgments about your protagonist, and it's up to you to decide what kinds of assumptions you want your readers to be making. First impressions matter, and this is where you want your readers to start to care about your protagonist (otherwise, that aforementioned point of connection doesn't exist).
If you don’t mention anyone in the first 250 words of your manuscript, then readers are likely to feel a little lost and disconnected. Characters ground us in the world of your book, and without them at the beginning, it’s very difficult to emotionally connect with your story—after all, no one is there to connect to. - This is my protagonist’s world. In the very first pages, readers are absorbing as much as they can about the world of your book. With the first 250, readers start off with absolutely nothing (except for a quick summary, that is)—we don’t know what your protagonist looks like, where the first scene will take place, the rules of the world, etc. Your first page should start to paint that picture for the readers, and while obviously not everything is going to be answered on the first page, by the end of the initial 250, readers should at least be able to picture where the scene is taking place, and have some initial hints of the world rules in your book.
If you don’t give your readers any hints to grab on to about the book’s world at all, then they’re going to feel a little lost again—this time, because your story will be happening in a vacuum, which means we have characters to hold on to but nothing else. Unfortunately, this is just as problematic as not having a protagonist to hold on to at all… - This is what the writing/voice will be like. Fair or not, readers are going to make assumptions about your entire book based off that first 250.
Read that again. I’ll wait. Got it? Okay.
While a scattered typo, grammatical error, or line of passive voice isn’t going to kill your manuscript, having more than one example of any of those in your first 250 is immediately going to give the reader the impression that they can expect much more of it in the rest of your manuscript. Voice works much the same way—however your first page is written, and whatever bits of voice you give us on the first page, is what the readers are going to expect from the rest of the manuscript.
Remember, however, that this works both ways: not only does it mean you have to make your first 250 shine, but it means you have to make the rest of your manuscript equally shiny. It’s not at all uncommon to see writers polish their first 250 (or first fifty pages), only to forget to do the same to the rest of their manuscript (which didn’t get critiqued quite as much). The only way to avoid this is to try to apply any critique you get on the beginning of your manuscript to the rest of the story. - This is a hint of the initial conflict. Right, so, while you definitely don’t need to spell out the full conflict on the first page (in fact, it’d probably be a mess if you did), readers should have some kind of hint of conflict. It doesn’t have to be the conflict, even, it could be something related to the main conflict, or something that will lead it up to it. But planting the seeds early gives readers something to follow and become immediately interested in as they start reading.
If you don’t have even a hint of conflict on the first page, then you risk making your readers worry that the story might be on the slow side. They might give you some leeway through the first chapter, but I definitely recommend you try to plant those seeds of conflict as soon as you organically can.
As a reader, what do you look for on the first page of a book?
Twitter-sized bite:
What are the first 250 words of your MS telling readers? Writer @Ava_Jae breaks it down. (Click to tweet)
16 comments:
Well said. The first 250 words are the most important in the book, for the reasons you've pointed out. As a reader, I scan the first 250 for a compelling protagonist, engrossing writing style, and hint of conflict. If one of those components doesn't show up right away, it's highly likely I'll end up putting down the book.
The Novelista
AHHH! There are so many things that we have to do well in the first page to entice the reader. I know as a reader all of these elements entice me to read on, but especially a strong writing voice. While the protagonist and world can be developed later on, the writing voice usually stays consistent. However, as a writer I think all of these elements are equally important and should all be done well on the first page. The only problem is that it's easier said than done. *sobs*
Great post! I never thought about how important those first 250 words are and how we're already getting ideas and forming opinions based on those first few words. Although I probably won't DNF a book based on those first words, they do set the tone and mood on how you start the book and your initial opinion of it.
I'm incredibly judgmental when I first start reading the book. Voice kills it for me. If I either don't get a good sense of voice or don't like the voice in the first page, I sort of drag myself through the next few pages to see if its worth while.
Thanks for these great reminders. I'm rewriting my first chapter of a completed manuscript now, and you made me rethink some things.
This reminds me of a discussion I had in philosophy the other day. This other kid sees me with books all the time (he never makes assumptions about me, either, so if we talk, it's always about books because he knows I like them) and he asked, "How long does it take for you to decide whether you're going to read a book or not?" Me, being flippant and honest, said, "A page." My philosophy teacher spun around with this gleeful shock on his face and made some comment about "WOW Heather shoots down books fast!" It was funny, but it was also kind of true—I just didn't have the words to articulate what you just did in this post. I mean, sure, I might end up reading the whole book after all, but usually I can tell how I'm going to feel about a book after the first 250, because these are the words that draw me in. And, on average, my favorite books on the planet are ones that drew me in from page one.
You just said it better, and that makes me happy.
Hmm, maybe I have more patience. I usually give a book a chapter to see if I want to continue it. (wonder if this comes from being an author and knowing how much effort goes into stories) But I do pick up a lot on tone in the first 250 words.
I have a three chapters before dnfing rule only because I have seen a few books turn around in the third chapter, but still, good God, I am always wondering what the author and the editor are thinking letting the beginning of a book be such a shamble. What gets me though is other book bloggers who are horrified that I don't read 50% before dnfing! I don't care how good a book gets in the backhalf, I shouldn't have to wait that long to feel connected, or find something interesting.
I just did a workshop that covered the importance of the first page. This is very well said and a great reminder. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Briana! I agree—I've put down more books than I can count because the first page didn't grab me. Definitely important!
It's definitely a challenge, but the good news is we don't have to get it right the first time! That's what revisions and CPs are for. :)
Also, I agree that voice is a HUGE component. I've stopped reading perfectly well-written books just because the voice didn't work for me.
You're welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks, Lola! They definitely set the tone/mood and start forming your impressions immediately—and first impressions matter!
I actually agree about voice—as I told someone below, I've put down perfectly well-written books just because the voice didn't grab me. It's super super subjective, but it's a pretty essential component. If you don't like the voice, the disconnect will probably last throughout the novel.
Good luck with your revisions!
I love what you said about your favorite books drawing you in from page one—I absolutely agree about that. I knew from page one that Half Bad by Sally Green, for example, was going to be a new favorite and I was right. :)
I used to read a whole chapter...until my TBR list started getting out of control and I didn't have time to read a whole chapter of every book I was considering. So now it's about a page or two before I decide yes or no.
I agree that you shouldn't have to wait halfway through a book to connect. I've told people before that I don't want to hear "but it gets better"—I want to be drawn in from the start.
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