The 5 Questions Your Opening Pages Should Answer

Hi Reader,

In my experience critiquing manuscripts, I see many writers failing to set up their stories properly. A novel's opening pages need to do a lot of heaving lifting: introduce the characters, the setting, and the plot without overwhelming the reader with too much information. Knowing what to reveal and what to withhold is a challenge that many writers face. So in this issue, I want to discuss the most important information you need to reveal in your opening pages.

Who is your protagonist? Most stories feature a central character for the reader to follow. You want to tell us enough about the protagonist to help us connect with them and understand what their motivations are. It's not enough to tell us who the protagonist is externally (how they look, their age, their job, etc.), we also need to know who they are internally (what are their values, what do they think about the world or themselves, etc.).
What does your protagonist want? In most books, a protagonist has a goal which will drive them through the story. This goal can be external (they want a promotion, money, a fresh start) or internal (love, self-fulfillment, healing). Whatever they want will set up the plot, and we'll follow the protagonist as they try to pursue this goal. Will they achieve it by the end or will they fail? This question will drive the narrative and keep readers turning the pages.
Why do they want it? Sometimes it's not enough to tell what the protagonist wants. You also need to give a hint to readers about why they want it. What is it about this one thing that they think will fulfill them? Here's where the protagonist's backstory comes in. Knowing this why will help us understand how the character thinks and their actions moving forward.
What's standing in their way of getting it? Now that we know what the protagonist wants and why, we also need to establish why they don't have it yet. Why can't they get the promotion or the love of their life? This sets up the conflict of the story. Throughout the story, the protagonist will face certain challenges in order to get what they want, which won't be resolved until the climax of the story.
What do they risk losing if they don't get it? These are the stakes of the story. If getting what they want is so easy, then they would already have it. We like following characters who struggle to get what they want, who'll have to sacrifice something in order to get it.

Case Study: The Hunger Games

Here's how The Hunger Games answers these questions in its first chapter (approx. 25 pages):

Who is the protagonist? Katniss Everdeen. She is a sixteen-year-old girl living a rough existence in District Twelve. After her father's death, she has become the sole provider for her family. We learn that she's willing to break the rules to survive, that she knows how dangerous and unfair this world is, and that she thinks she can't do anything to change it.
What does Katniss want? To survive. To put food on the table. But this survival is not only for Katniss herself. What Katniss wants most of all is to protect her younger sister, Prim.
Why does she want this? Katniss doesn't think she has any other choice. Her mother became despondent after her father's death, and Katniss had to step into her father's shoes and start hunting and bartering to keep her family fed. And as the author makes clear in this chapter, Katniss loves Prim above all else.
What's keeping her from getting it? The cruel and rigged system she lives under, the poverty she comes from, and The Reaping.
What does she risk losing if she doesn't get it? Survive or die. And if she dies, there will be no one else to protect Prim.

Everything that is set up in this first chapter will play out in the rest of the story and the series. Katniss's love for Prim will lead her to volunteer as a tribute, team up with Rue and honor her when she dies (which leads to Katniss becoming a symbol of the rebellion), and strive to survive the games by any means necessary.

How to Apply This to Your Writing

Answer these questions for your own story and then use the answers to shape your book's pitch. This will help you condense the story to its core and guide you as you write and rewrite.

To write a short, simple pitch, use the formula below:

Protagonist (who) wants (goal) because (why) but in order to get it they'll have to (conflict) or face losing/sacrificing (stakes).

Example: Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen needs to survive in order to provide food for her family, especially her beloved younger sister, but the cruel regime she lives in means stepping out of line would be a death sentence.

Notice how my lame attempt doesn't include the most important part of the novel, which are the hunger games themselves. As you refine your pitch, make sure you add more about what makes your story unique.

Here's the actual book description for The Hunger Games, where I've marked how they incorporated the answers to the five questions above:

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death (stakes). The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV (conflict - what Katniss is up against and why it's hard for her to survive).

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games (who & why - Katniss knows the dangers but volunteers for her sister - we can infer it's because she loves her). But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature (who & goal). Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win (goal - if she wants to survive, she'll have to win), she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love (more stakes - these are more personal to Katniss).

Your Questions

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