Keep these points in mind to include in your novel's first three pages:
1. Start with an important action. Unpublished writers do not have the luxury of building up to a conflict or other main event. Something must happen right away to hook the reader (here, the reader always means the editor or agent.)
2. Develop conflict. Things need to be stressful. If life is too easy for your characters, you will not hold the readers' attention.
3. Make promises--and keep them. Romance readers want romance; mystery readers expect a good puzzle, adventure lovers expect fast-paced action. Hint at things to come, then deliver. Everything must be resolved by the end of your novel, including the few little asides you might have introduced along the way. The lost dog found its home; the red herring was explained away; the secondary character's role was revealed, etc.
4. Introduce or foreshadow your main characters. Who the star(s) of your story is should be clear from the start. This also goes hand in hand with point of view. Decide before you start writing what viewpoint you will be using--first person, limited third person, multi-viewpoint, omniscient.
5. Develop a main character your reader can identify with, worry about, and root for. Let the reader know who the good guys are--and the bad guys.
6. Let the reader know up front what is at stake. What's the conflict, what stands to be lost?
7. Establish the setting. Let the reader know where we are, and when.
8. The beginning must foreshadow the conclusion. Your story is not a random series of events. All activities are carefully linked together. All plot elements must intertwine with one another. And you must know the ending of your novel before you begin it.
9. Set the pace. To some extent, the genre will dictate that for you. Historical romances are more leisurely, filled with description and flowery language; mysteries must go faster.
10. Don't digress. Everything mentioned in your book must have a reason for being there. If it doesn't advance the story line, it shouldn't be in your book. This includes dialogue for dialogue's sake, motives that are weak, description of irrelevant items or scenery, gratuitous red herrings, and plot twists that don't ultimately tie in.
These tips below I quoted from Denith's post in www.5steps2ielts.com forum... It helps me some, though!
* Technical Skill
- Creative Writings : poetic styles
- Inversion : Grammar of inversing sentences
- Passive : anyone dont know this?
- Narrative skills : To narrate specific places, events and people
- Wide knowledge of vocabulary RANGE : You have to know the synonyms, or opposites of a word. But not only that, even how to "speak" the sentence in various ways
- Setting : Describe about the story : Place, Characters, Events, Plot Summar
- Character Development Skill : How a character "changes" through series of events.
* Conceptual Skill
- Sense of Progression : I ts a skill of how you "connect" a sequence to another sequence in both systematic or non-systematic way. Its like telling a story WHICH LEADS to another story.
- Morale Review : Imbue a morale value in your story- Sense of Portray : Its a skill enable you, the writer, to impost specific "purpose" when CREATING a character. One character are "designated" for a remarkable reason. Make a comparison or base-knowledge for the origin of your characters.
- Sense of Mission : Its similar to "Sense of Portray", but for an event. You need to find a "specific purpose" for that event.
- Sense of Time : How you create your character, event, and story in accordance with the "time - period, era, occasion" you set.
- Psychology : A study to how your "minds" work
- Philosophy : Need explanation?- Sense of Humor : Make your audience "laugh."
- Sense of Heart : Emotional Input to the story
- Sense of Culture : Create your own custom or tradition in the story.
- Sense of Realism : The most important sense.
* Control Skill
- The Cross Skill : how you combine those above "senses"
- Resolution/Output control : See whether your suggested solution is fitted
- Being-a-reader concept : Make yourself a reader, how much will you agree with "yourself"
- Eccentricity : Make something Unique of your story... such like "star war"
- Impact Evaluation : Think of what you write could cause controversy. Like is it suited to Jesus world, or will it hurts the Buddhists?
- Length Evaluation : Look at your writing, does the length of your writing is "proportional" to the story? DID YOU WASTE?
- Capacity Evaluation : Sometimes, a story doesn't need a thousand meaning. Hope you understand what I say.
AND FINALLY, THE Credit, Reference, foreword/Preface and History Writing Skill.
Step 2... Lick! 
