The first five pages of your novel are everything.
No matter how clever your hook, those opening pages will decide whether a reader keeps going—or puts your book back on the shelf. You have to be engaging, sharp, and above all, better than the other thousand books they’re considering.
That doesn’t mean you need to give everything away immediately. But you do need to set the tone and show the reader what kind of world they’re stepping into.
Set the Stage, Don’t Overload It
The opening is where you establish key elements:
- What kind of language will be used?
- How do your characters interact?
- Is this a world of heroes trying to be better, or anti-heroes trying to redeem themselves?
- Are we in the future, the past, or somewhere imagined?
Give the reader enough to understand what kind of story they’re about to experience—but don’t dump your entire world-building bible on them. Let the flavour of your world build gradually, sentence by sentence.
Real Examples from the Page
I write science fiction and fantasy—with a dash of action and suspense. In A Spear in Flight, the story opens with the protagonist’s mother giving birth during a week-long thunderstorm. The character interactions hint at moral complexity. A mysterious healer class is introduced. And before the chapter ends, there’s a sudden death and a prophecy. That’s a lot—but it flows naturally, pulling the reader in fast.
In Lonely, a short story of mine, the protagonist isn’t even fully introduced until the end. You experience the story entirely through his eyes as he searches for connection. One of my writing group members admitted they didn’t see the twist coming—but after rereading, noticed the clues were there all along.
What do both stories do? They make the reader want to know more.
Want + Conflict = Momentum
Here’s one of the most important tools for keeping readers engaged: make sure every character in every scene wants something.
It doesn’t have to be big. Maybe it’s love, acceptance, freedom, or even just a cup of coffee. But the want must be clear—and there must be something stopping them from getting it.
That’s your conflict.
Let’s say your character falls for someone. The want is love. But the conflict? Maybe the object of their affection is married, too young, too far away, or from a different social class. Your job as a writer is to build this tension—and either push them close to having it by the chapter’s end or take it away completely.
Then, in the next chapter, you bring the desire back. Keep the want alive.
When a character wants something, readers turn pages.
Write Through the Character’s Eyes
Always live the scene through the viewpoint character.
Why? Because it helps the reader connect. If we’re inside the character’s experience, we care more about what happens to them. That’s how you build emotional investment.
And keep the writing physical. Margaret Atwood says it best: “Keep the writing physical.”
Don’t pause to dump a paragraph explaining your fictional technology or political systems. Drip that information in slowly—through action, dialogue, reaction. Let your world unfold naturally, without overwhelming the reader.
Final Thoughts
Your first five pages don’t need to be perfect—but they do need to be purposeful.
Set the tone. Create momentum. Let readers see the world through your character’s eyes. Most importantly, give them a reason to keep reading.
Do that, and they won’t just buy your book. They’ll remember it.