By Toni Shiloh, @tonishilohwrite
Who fears writing that first page of a new story? Do you agonize on the first line? That first paragraph? Does this fear keep you from even putting idea to page?
I get it. I’m one of those readers who used to stop reading after the first page if I wasn’t interested. There’s immense pressure to get that first line perfect and to keep the reader reading until the next page, next chapter, end of the book.
So what can you do to engage the reader who might be quick to judge (sorry!) or have an attention span that needs something fast pace?
1. Start the reader with action.
Now don’t worry if you’re a writer who writes historical romances and thinks that there is no action in your novel because it’s not a suspense. That’s not necessarily what this mean. Action can be dialogue, movement from the character, or of course an opening with a suspense scene. Let’s look at three examples.
“Let’s get married.”
This is the first line from my novel, An Unlikely Proposal. It opens in dialogue and immediately sets the stage for this modern marriage-of-convenience story. How about another?
Just call me George Washington.
This line from Sarah Monzon’s Molly invites the reader to refer to the main character using a different name. This call to action, immediately sparks the readers’ curiosity and compels them to continue reading. You’ll also note the line tells the reader what point of view the story will be told from.
The hallway floor jolts downward beneath my feet, throwing me off balance.
The opening line in Becky Wade’s Stay With Me literally starts with movement…an earthquake!
Each line can stand on its own but what makes these first lines so great, is the ability to hook the reader.
2. Set the mood.
On that first page, you want the writer to have an idea of the mood of the story. Give an insight to what the characters are going to face, what they may have gone through, or start with their status quo. Let’s look at a couple of examples.
It was just a house. Just a weathered old house in a hidden grove, shuttered and still under the shadowed reach of pale moonlight through listless clouds. It shouldn’t beckon him so, prying him from the truck and that wrinkled magazine page from his pocket. The one with the white creases from his folding and unfolding and folding and … – Now and Then and Always by Melissa Tagg
Are you intrigued? Do you see how words like “weathered,” “shuttered,” “shadowed,” and “listless” all hint at what the main character is viewing and maybe even showing the reader how he views the word? Life has beaten this person down, but something has also given them the will to come to this house and what it might possibly offer him.
He’d never killed a woman in cold blood before, but now was as good a time as any.
Boots pounding the concrete as he sprinted through the bunker, former Special Warfare Operator Leif Metcalfe knew he could not let her escape. Not again. He’d never live it down. The guys wouldn’t forgive him. Everyone was sick of her ability to slip through their fingers like a well-oiled serpent.
– Storm Rising by Ronie Kendig
Ms. Kendig sets the stage for this suspenseful tale. The sentences become shorter, increasing that tension and suspense for the reader. We get a peek into the head of the main character, Leif, as he lets us know how his brothers in arms will respond if he fails to capture the target. This paragraph keeps the reader engaged, giving you little snippets that beg them to continue reading.
3. The last line of the paragraph hooks the reader to keep reading.
First lines are important, they’re the hook to get the readers’ attention and began the story’s journey. But the last lines of each paragraph are just as important. You want to hook the reader to go on to the next one, and the next one, and the next.
Let’s look at the first page from Roseanna M. White’s The Number of Love for an example.
She darted a glance out the window.
This is the last line of paragraph one. It asks the question: what does she see? The reader has to keep reading to get the answer.
Soon the day shift would arrive, and if those on night watch hadn’t cracked the new codes, there’d be an insufferable amount of jeering.
So how does the main character feel about that? Does this stress her out? Not faze her a bit? Again, the reader has to keep reading to get those answers.
Months ago, he had been the star…
This isn’t the last line of the paragraph, but the first page. It doesn’t even get to finish but forces the reader to turn the page to finish the sentence.
SUCCESS!
That one trick will get a reader turning every time, because what person can stop mid-sentence? This doesn’t always fall in your hands as the writer. Sometimes the publishing company will be able to do this in formatting stage. But if you self-publish, you definitely have control over this if you format your own books.
I hope these three tips help you and motivate you to get that first page down. These tips are also great in the editing stage to make sure you’ve accomplished the task of hooking that reader and keeping them reading.
Until next time,
Toni Shiloh
Their friendship can survive almost anything…
For two best friends,
marriage could be their greatest test yet…
Trinity Davis must not have heard firefighter Omar Young correctly. Did her handsome widowed best friend just suggest they get married? Omar needs a mom for his adorable little girls, and it’ll fix Trinity’s financial woes. But saying “I do” isn’t just business. Especially when the only vow they’re in danger of breaking is their promise to not fall in love…
Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and multi-published Christian contemporary romance author. She writes to bring God glory and to learn more about His goodness. Her novel, Grace Restored, was a 2019 Holt Medallion finalist and Risking Love is a 2020 Selah Award finalist.
A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and of the Virginia Chapter, Toni seeks to help readers find authors. She loves connecting with readers and authors alike via social media. You can learn more about her writing at http://tonishiloh.com.