Monday, November 7, 2011

The First Five Pages

I love this time of year. The days are getting shorter, leaves are falling, and the holidays are just around the corner. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite celebrations. I began working at The Wild Rose Press around this time several years ago. My name is Anne Seymour, and I currently work as an editor on the Crimson Rose line. I always love a good mystery, especially when the hero is as hot as the suspense.


The one aspect, in my opinion, that marks the difference between just a manuscript and a GREAT MANUSCRIPT is THE FIRST FIVE PAGES. During this critical point in a story, the author must pull the reader in and hook their interest, or the reader will become apathetic toward the characters—and probably not finish reading the book.


Sounds shocking, right? How can an author open a grand story, introduce sympathetic characters and evil villains, begin the action and conflict, but yet confine all above mentioned aspects to a mere FIVE PAGES? An insurmountable task one might say, right? But maybe not; let’s discuss the basics now.


First, we must unlearn all that we have learned previously about writing. I studied all the great works in Literature during college. James Fennimore Cooper, Herman Melville, Henry James, etc. wrote stories in omniscient point of view employing the writing method of “telling” the action instead of “showing” it. This technique removes the reader from the action of the story instead of insisting the reader to take part with the characters in the act. A reader must be immersed in the action and emotionally involved with the characters by the end of the fifth page of a story. Make the reader unable to do anything but participate with your characters.


Next, find an opening line that will grab attention. For example, “Take it easy. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.” Sunny jerked her arms back hoping to slow the pace of the large-framed detective who continued to drag her from the bar with unwavering force. “Calm down, Wildcat. You’re only making it harder on yourself.” He didn’t slow his stride, or ease the firm grasp he had on her arm as he walked beside her.” In this example, (Some Like It In Handcuffs by Christine Warner—coming soon from The Wild Rose Press) the author introduces the hero and heroine within the first four sentences while adding humor and sexual tension. The reader is hooked now, determined to learn more and join the story.

Finally, make sure to include ONLY necessary information at this time. The first five pages are not for any of the following:


n Back-story: while back-story will be needed in any novel, it should never appear in the first five pages! Use back-story sparingly and only when needed throughout the novel, but never allow it to be longer than a few paragraphs at a time.

n Secondary Characters: Introduce these characters later in the story. Reserve the main characters (hero, heroine, & villain (if there is one)) for the beginning.


n Descriptive or Non-Action Scenes: Describe the setting later. The first five pages should not be filled with paragraphs of how beautiful the sky, trees and meadows are. Also, no Non-Action scenes! Start with a fight scene, a murder, etc. Grab attention.


While this is a brief overview, I hope I’ve mentioned good points to consider. If any are interested in another more in-depth discussion, please comment and let me know. I would be happy to offer another blog discussing this further. Until then, enjoy the season and keep writing!

Anne Seymour

6 comments:

J L said...

I never thought of it that way, but you're right: we have to unlearn all that is considered important in "great" literature. Writing genre fiction (romance, mystery, etc.) means a different set of rules. Good point!

Brenda Whiteside said...

Good post. Great way to explain what we need to d.

Neecy said...

Cool Blog! And Christine Warner first few sentences hooked me. Can't wait for that book to come out.
Thanks, for the tips,
Neecy

Calisa Rhose said...

I love visiting a blog and learning something! Thanks. Christine does have a way of yanking you right in. Great example. I'll be watching for her book!

Anonymous said...

Good points, all.

I seek to open all my novels "at the moment of change". Someone told me that once, I never forgot it.

Joanna K. Moore

Kaye Manro said...

Good post Anne. I'm so glad editors like you are presenting this for authors and especially aspiring authors.

To tell the truth, most books do not grab me in the first five pages. But there are those that do, of course, and I am very excited when that happens.

If more authors would practice this 5 page rule and then also learn to write tight, keeping us hooked throughout their entire manuscript, then we would have some mighty good books everywhere!