According to writing coach Eva Langston, any novel has to complete five tasks on page one. We can agree those five, if not the order Langston presented.
Introduce the main character
I write character-first. If the characters are compelling, I can put them in any genre in any world. So on page one I have to pitch a compelling main character and hope readers want to stick around and get to know them.
Hook the reader
Page one has to grab readers right away; make them read to the bottom and turn the page. Then keep turning. Langston suggests a sense of danger. It doesn’t have to be specific, just foreboding and dangerous enough that we fear for the protagonist.
Set the scene and overall tone
Page one is a scarce patch of real estate. Somehow it has to establish where are we, and the active state of the protagonist. Then indicate is this serious, comic, grimdark, or epic? Is it clearly Adult, YA, or Middle-Grade?
Hint at the conflict, mystery or central question of the novel
Is there a grand external conflict? Or are we focused on an internal arc of change? Does page one pose questions that spark the reader’s curiosity?
World-building
The world may dictate the genre, it may even enable or frame the central conflict in the plot. It can’t sustain the entire novel without the other four elements in Langston’s list. Importantly, she insists weaving in details without an info-dump. That’s why I demote world-building in favor of the other elements. There’s time for all of that in the following pages.
Priority One
This first page has to be some fancy magic box in order to contain all five elements. Remember this is page one; maybe thirty or forty lines of text. That’s 250-300 words. Page one
Kamsen Streets
So how do I rate for the first page of Kamsen Knights?
Introduce the main character.
Yari is on the first line of page one. The story begins from her point of view.
Hook the reader.
What is this clandestine mission she’s so focused on?
Set the scene and overall tone.
We’re in the former imperial capital, a dangerous ferment of release and unrest. It’s broadly dark and YA.
Hint at the central question.
Can Yari complete her mission. Can she find the mystery person? What dangers must she face?
World-building.
There are early hints at the dangers in the capital now the empire is gone. We’re on streets filled with mischief and malice – but what kind?