The First Five Pages: What Do You Know?
Here is another technique I learned from Darcy Pattison at the SCBWI Novel Revision Retreat:
Read the first five pages of your manuscript and stop. Now write down everything you know about your protagonist from what you’ve read. Be careful not to include things you, as the author, know. Limit yourself to things only included in these pages.
How did you do? Is your list general and vague, or do you have a strong sense of this person’s personality, preferences, family, community, speech patterns, likes and dislikes, etc.? By five pages, your character should already be defined for your reader.
If you don’t know your character at this point, you might need to move the action forward in your story. Check to see if there is backstory that can be eliminated. Jump in where the story truly begins. Trust your readers to be able to follow.
Such good advice!!
I was getting annoyed with a book last week (a published book) and I never made it past the first few pages and this is why. They had all backstory and nothing important or revealing was happening.
I like that advice and can see how well it would work. So often because we know stuff in our heads, we don’t realize we haven’t shared that knowledge with the reader. Thanks.
Great advice, thank you so much for sharing with us!
Oh, I like this exercise! I’ll have to try it out on my WIP. Thanks for the post!
Great advice! I’ll have to try it too.
Oooh nice advice…I think I actually pass this test! Whew at least I pass something!
perfect timing, I was up late last night trying to redo my first five pages. Thank you!
This is great! I think I’ll give it a try with my books and see where I end up. Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic advice, Caroline! I am so going to do this on my current WIP!
That’s interesting!
Noah Lukeman wrote a book called “The First Five Pages” and he seemed to think they were the most crucial, too.
Hi Jennifer,
I have to admit, I didn’t like The First Five Pages. Have you read it? What was your take?
Wow – great tip! I’m going to mentally bookmark this one for when I rewrite my opening.
The first five pages are key! Good exercise for writers…