Two big mistakes I see in the first five pages stem from the famous (and infamously vague) advice "start in the action". Here are two ways I see it go wrong, and two reasons why you're probably so close to doing it right:
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1. Exposition station:
Sometimes when we start "right in the action" we feel like we need to explain why the MC is there in the first place for the audience to get the importance of the action. The truth is
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When meeting an Interesting Person IRL it is rarely their backstory that draws us to them. Study the first pages of your favorite books- how much backstory? Any exposition? Exposition is often boring, frankly, and slows down the action you started in anyways. The easy fix is
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To make the moments of that chosen action specific and vivid. Your character's responses to what is happening will tell us enough to make us love them (or hate them depending on the story you're telling )
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2. Action = explosions/chases/high stakes

I want another word for action because it is very misleading. I've read too many forced "action" scenes in stories that are just not suited for it. They feel cheesy (at best) and cringey. A more accurately phrased piece of advice
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Is start where your story starts, but that is also... Vague...
So what's the easy fix? Again, read the first pages of your favorite books. What elements of the character/action (read plot)/setting do they reveal and how quickly? Read the books in your genre, then think
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About where you're character's life takes that fatal/all changing shift and start just before that. That's where your story starts.

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Anyways, as always, mine is just one opinion. Never take writing advice too seriously cuz it works differently for everyone. But if you find you keep getting negative/disconnected feedback on your first page, consider these two common problems and what the fix might be for you
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