Was that early writing wasted? Not at all. Those chapters were where I met my victim—the character who disappears at the start of the story. I figured out his personality, quirks, and why someone might want him gone or why he might want to make himself disappear. Even though he never appears on the page early, he shaped every reaction from every other character. Writing those chapters was like sketching under a painting: the reader never sees the pencil lines, but the artwork wouldn’t exist without them.

Here are ten ways you can help your first five pages shine—whether you’re drafting fresh pages or polishing a nearly-there manuscript.

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1. Bring Your Main Character in Quickly

Readers bond with people, not plot points. Let them meet your protagonist early enough to invest emotionally if the most important person doesn’t show up until page 40. Ask me how I know.

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2. Start With Movement, Not Backstory

You don’t have to open with a car chase or a burning building, but give us a sense of motion—someone wanting something, trying something, reacting to something. Curiosity pulls readers forward.

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4. Read It Out Loud—Every Word

Reading out loud is an old freelance-editor habit of mine, and it still works like a charm. If you stumble, pause, or reread, that’s your manuscript saying, “Fix me.” If a reader stumbles on your words, you interrupt the flow of the story for them.

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5. Make Dialogue Clear

If you can’t tell who’s talking without checking the tags, your reader won’t know either. And if you’ve got so many people in one room that the lines get tangled, consider thinning the crowd. Not every character needs a front-row seat.

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6. Ground the Reader in the Setting

Give us one or two sensory details so we know where we are—a smell, a texture, a sound—just enough to anchor the scene. Too little feels floaty, too much slows the pace.

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7. Raise a Question

Readers love a little mystery. Make them ask themselves questions about what will happen next. Don’t answer the questions immediately. Give your story that tad of suspense. It moves your story forward. You’ll answer it when the time is right.

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8. Check That Every Paragraph Has a Purpose

Ask yourself: Does this move the story forward? Does it reveal character? Does it raise tension? If not, it goes into the scrap pile..

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9. Make Your Voice Shine

Your voice is what makes you you on the page. Play with rhythm, humor, and emotion—whatever tone fits your story. Write from your heart as though talking to a friend.

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10. End Your Fifth Page With Forward Momentum

Think of it as closing a chapter of curiosity rather than completion. You want your reader leaning in, not leaning back. A new shift—a new worry, a surprising reaction, a question left hanging—creates just enough momentum to make turning the page irresistible.

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Final Thoughts

Cutting chapters, trimming adverbs, reading aloud—none of it is wasted effort. It all strengthens your instincts and sharpens your storytelling. Those “lost” chapters you toss? They’re never truly lost. They inform your characters, deepen your world, and make the surviving pages shine brighter.

If you ever feel discouraged during those early edits, remember: glitter doesn’t stick without a bit of glue, and sparkling first pages don’t appear without trimming.

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If you are interested in Noah Lukeman’s book, The First Five Pages, click here.