Is the first page really the hardest to write?

It is often said that when it comes to writing, getting started is always the hardest bit. There is just something about staring at a blank page at the start of a new project that is always daunting, and finding the words to start your tale is always a challenge.

But is this really true?

Like so many other things with writing, I think the answer is, on balance, yes and no.

I would argue that, really, it isn’t always that hard to write your first page. Even if you have no real idea of how to begin your story, you can generally think of something to put, even if it is just mostly gibberish to get you into the writing groove. The sense can come later.

The hard bit is getting that first page right. It’s easy enough to write something, but it write the right thing is a different matter. Often, when we come to editing our work, the first section can be cut. It often doesn’t add much to what comes after and is commonly just there as background rather than to propel the story forwards.

Still, that kind of writing has its place. If it helps to get us into the meat of the story while we’re writing the first draft, then fair enough. We just need to remember that we can’t be precious about it when it comes to going back over the text.

In that sense, the first page or scene really is the hardest bit of writing a book. It has to do so much – grab the reader’s attention, hold it long enough to let them know it’s worth sticking around until the end, get your story started, introduce important elements of the novel (characters, themes etc) and prove that you know how to put a good sentence together. That’s a tall ask.

So while the waffle that often comes out when we first sit down to write the first page can be useful as a means of getting us started and is, in some respects, easy to do, creating a first sections that is purposeful, compelling and hints at more to come is a much tougher task.

What do you think?