By all means start your novel with the first page, I do, but first pages are often best left to the end, being the last thing you write.
The first page should ideally encapsulate the big question contained in your novel. Anybody who picks up a novel in a bookshop or online platform, having been attracted by the title and cover, intrigued by the blurb, might read the first page. The start of your novel should transport the reader to the world of your story. Introduce a central character, preferably the protagonist, and divulge the subject matter at the heart of your book. Include descriptions of the landscape or weather if you like, or something unusual to grab the reader’s attention, it doesn’t matter, what counts is that the reader should know exactly what they will get if they buy your book, particularly if you have written a genre novel. Make it clear when and where, and establish an emotional connection with the reader.
A Royal Store of Hearts, not the perfect first page in my novel, The Traitor Who Wore the King’s Crown, and with only half a page for 135 words. As well as an introduction to the mind set of the protagonist using period language, we have the sensibilities of the time and a hint of an environmental theme.
There may be fewer words available on the first page, also containing the chapter number, title, and caption and dropped text, so make every word count. You must introduce the tone or theme of the story, foreshadowing is one method often employed to do this, and ask the big question right there on the first page. And all this is often best answered when you have finished writing your novel, which is why making your first page the last thing you write is a good idea.
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