The Hook and the Initial Promise

Capturing the Reader's Attention

In Manga in Theory and Practice, Hirohiko Araki explains that the first page of a work determines its life or death. In short story literary contests, the first paragraphs carry the exact same weight: if the judges aren’t hooked, they won’t read the rest with the same goodwill.

🎣 What should be on the First Page?

The introduction doesn’t just serve to “start” the story; it needs to serve as a preview of the entire mood and theme to come.

1. Answer the 5W1H (with a twist)

You need to quickly establish the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. However, if you do this in an obvious way, it will be boring.

The Tactic: Answer the basics in the first paragraph, and in the second show the main character doing something slightly unusual that breaks expectations and forces the reader to want to know more.

2. Information Compression

Don’t waste the beginning with paragraphs of descriptive exposition. Provide multiple pieces of information through single, short actions.

Araki’s Example: If the character’s first sentence is “I think I’ll make pasta tonight”, you already tell the reader, without directly describing it, that: (a) the character likes Italian food; (b) they cook for themselves; © they probably live alone; (d) they don’t live in extreme poverty.
If the next paragraph shows them going with a scythe to harvest wheat in the field to make pasta from scratch, the reader will think: “Wait, this guy is different. I want to read more”.

⚠️ The Introduction Taboo

Never leave the reader wondering “When is the main character going to show up?”. In short narratives, the protagonist must be the immediate anchor of attention.