I had to take last week off from the wip to proofread the previous book. Perhaps because I wasn't trying to actually write the wip, I was forced to just think about the troublesome beginning of the book in the odd moments when I wasn't proofreading.
And then -- oh happy day! I thought of a different way to start the book. A good way. A much better way! The fog has lifted! The light has come on! The road is clear!!!
So tomorrow, and despite having already written 72 pages, I'll be starting again at Chapter One, Scene One.
And this is exciting why? you may be wondering. What about those 72 pages? Are they just...gone?
Not exactly. Today I'm going to take a look and see if there's anything I can salvage that I've already written. I think there will be. But I'm excited because I feel like I know what I'm doing with this beginning now. That it's going to be a more fun, more interesting, entertaining beginning that will do everything I need it to do, and even more than I originally planned.
And that's exciting!
4 comments:
Having written stories for my own amusement,I agree that finding the best beginning, other than Once Upon A Time, is often a tough call. Once you have decided what will work best, though, is there any guideline for knowing what can be salvaged from your original beginning? Or is it simply a choice of what can be successfully presented in other portions of the story?
Hi Mary. I look at bits of dialogue or description or activity that won't be up where they were originally, but that I can work into the story elsewhere, some earlier, some later. For instance, I've got a bit about the hero's name that was going to come later on in the story, and I'm thinking I can work that into the first scene now. I'll have to write a lot of new material, but if there's a bit of material I can re-use, yippee! :-)
Just curious...when is this novel slated to hit shelves?
Wondering how far ahead you're working.
In about a year, tentatively. It's about nine months from the time it's due till it's on the shelves. Not a lot of days or weekends off for me in the near future!
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