The first few pages of a book are absolutely crucial to its success.
That’s a bold statement, sure, but true. If you do not hook your reader in your first few pages, it is unlikely that they’ll continue reading.
So how, exactly, do you hook them? I have a few ideas:
YOUR VOICE
Every writer has a unique voice. A particular way of saying things that makes us know right away who’s writing.
Stephen King is a great example.
Years ago, when he wrote Thinner under the pen name Richard Bachman, I remember picking up the book in the bookstore and thinking, jeez, this guy writes just like Stephen King.
And it was good, of course. I was hooked from page one. If you work to develop a voice that is smooth, professional and, most importantly, entertaining, you’ll have gone a long way toward making those first ten pages sing.
MAKE IT A MYSTERY
I don’t care what kind of story you’ting, every story is a mystery story. And by mystery, I merely mean that you don’t reveal everything up front.
You tease your reader, planting questions in his/her mind, questions that he wants answers to. But then you take your time answering them.
In a typical cop story, this might be “Who killed the waiter and why?”
But it could also be “Who rejected Allison? Why is she afraid to ride the bus? What happened to her that was so traumatic?”
Your job is to plant seeds in those first few pages and use the next three hundred or so to watch them grow.
START WITH ACTION
And by action I don’t necessarily mean a chase scene or gun play. I merely mean to begin in motion.
You might have a couple waiting to hear from a doctor, or a man driving to a place he’s dreading, a woman getting a phone call from an old lover.
Whatever the case, do not start with a stagnant scene—like someone waking in the morning.
Start with the story already in motion. Almost as if the reader has entered the movie theater a minute or so late and has to puzzle out why the hero is doing what he’s doing.
If you follow these three suggestions, I think you’ll be a long way toward making those first few pages engaging and rewarding to the reader.
But once you’ve got them hooked, the trick is to keep them hooked until the very last scene.