THE FIRST FIVE PAGES.

Today at Romancing the Blog, Lori Devoti writes about hooking readers within the first five pages of a novel. She says that:

Over and over you hear that agents, editors and even some reviewers only give a book or manuscript five pages (at most) to grab them. That competition is so intense, that if in under 1,500 words or so they don’t think the book/writing is up to par they will move on–slap a rejection in an envelope, or stick the manuscript on the don’t-bother pile. Studies show that readers do the same thing when shopping–they pick up a book, read the back, then flip it open to the first page, scan a bit, then either put it back on the shelf or buy it.

Right about now, some of you may be wondering how agents, editors, reviewers, and readers can determine whether they will like a book just by reading its first few pages. Many people will tell you that it all comes down to a writer's voice and whether that voice appeals to them.

But I've often wondered if there's a great deal more to it than that. I've actually long been curious about whether a novel's opening paragraphs hook us as readers has something to do with the kind of learners we are.

Do visual learners long to "see" description, for example? Do auditory learners yearn to "hear" dialogue? Do physical learners itch to "undertake" action?

I don't know whether any studies have ever been conducted in this regard. But I think it would be interesting to find out whether there is, in fact, any correlation between learner types and opening-paragraphs preferences.

I know that, personally, I'm mostly a visual learner and that books that open with description are much more likely to appeal to me than novels that open with either dialogue or action. But then, I didn't grow up with a bunch of technological gadgets that constantly made a variety of sounds or with video games that enabled me to engage in nonstop action, either.

But my son, Shane, did, and he's a physical learner.

Is the way in which we learn due solely to our genetics, solely to our environments, or to a combination of both? Would Shane have been a physical learner without technology? Or did technology encourage him to become a physical learner?

I don't know. What I do know is that he prefers books that open with action.

What about the rest of you? What kind of learners are you---and what is your own preference when it comes to a novel's opening paragraphs?