I know how to write the perfect first page. A perfect first page to do three things. And because the easiest way to learn anything is through examples, I’m gonna walk you through the first page of my new book, 2 sides to every murder. The first thing it needs to do is it needs to start you right in the middle of the action. Now when I say action, I don’t necessarily mean like an action scene, like the action movie with swords. And I mean that it has to be active. I mean that I want to see your character actively pursuing some goal, even if it’s not the primary goal of the book. So an example, Geonworth’s lungs ache to. She tore through the trees, the woods pushed in around her, hiding the cabins and Camp lost like Lodge from view. It felt like she was in the middle of nowhere. It’s not too late.
It can’t be too late, she thought, winning her short legs to move faster. So you can see already that we’re plopping into the story right as geonore is running for something, something is chasing her. She has to get somewhere. Something is happening and it’s intense and we want to see what happens next. That’s why I chose to start with Gia running through the wood.
The second thing you wanna focus on when you’re looking at your first trap there is variety. Now, I mean variety of sentence length and structure. I mean variety of specific technique that you’re using in your pros. So description, backstory, interiority, dialogue, you wanna make sure there’s a good mix of all of those things sprinkled in. The most importantly, the variety of length of your sentences. If all of your sentences are the same length, you’re going to end up with this really monotonous kind of structure that’s boring to read and has a hard time gripping your audience. Those should be written kind of like music. So listen, as I read the next part of this outlet loud, listen to the way that I get kind of a beat. So it’s not too late. It can’t be too late, she thought, willing her short legs to move faster. The muscles in her calves screamed. She leaped from the grass, the hard packed earth of the trail. Her foot slipped beneath her. She felt a sharp crack through her chin and tasted dirt in her mouth before she even realized she’d fallen. It was the worst possible time to trip.
Yeah, how I’m kind of varying the length of things. I’m varying the way that the structure is. I’m in her head, but I’m also like I’m in her body as we feel her shin shut up into her lip and the dirt flood her mouth. And so you’re kind of physically inside of her even as you’re like feeling the tension and the anxiety rise in her brain as she realizes that she needs to get to where she’s going.
This was all very intentional. It’s a first page and I wanna make sure that I am pulling my reader in immediately. And the final and perhaps the most important thing that you want to do on your first page is leave your reader wanting more. So I end the first page with GS standing, breathing hard.
She notices her camera on the ground. Camera was probably the most important possession she had right now. The police would want to see the footage she just taken. She needed to put it back in its hiding place where she could get to it later. She glanced over her shoulder into the woods. She just ran through. Did she have time for that now? This was another intentional decision. I just casually sneak in the reference to the police so that you know that some sort of a crime has been committed. She’s looking over her shoulder. So even though she isn’t telling you directly, I’m being chased, you know she’s being chased. You feel that she’s being chased. All of these are intentionally placed so that you’re starting to have questions about what’s going on in GS Live and what she’s doing and you kind of wanna keep reading to see if those question are going to be answered. That’s intentional.
Hope this helps as you all start working on your first pages. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and check out 2 sides able to keep doing these videos for free without like annoying sponsors and stuff. Because I’m a traditionally published writer who makes money from selling books. So if you’re in a bookstore this week, please pick up a copy of 2 sides to every murder. First week sales are hugely important, and I love to do these videos. So help a girl out just came out. I’m really excited for you guys to read it.