There is no chapter in this novel that I have not rewritten once or twice. The champion of rewrites has by far been the first one. To this day, it’s my least favorite in the whole damn book. I can forgive the chapter, it is precisely what it has to be, but what I can’t forgive is the first paragraph.
How to begin never eluded me, but how to begin the beginning, that has been a dilemma since the onset. I skipped past it originally as it was attempting to squash my ambition to write a single word. Now, a number of beta readers and an editorial review later and I am still looking at these five damn sentences trying to decide exactly how to get this thing rolling.
No few lines of text in the history of my life have been removed, rewritten, or replaced this many times and not eventually become something I could live with.
It’s the most important paragraph in the book in some ways: has to get the reader interested as soon as possible, has to make my main character relatable if possible, and still has to be the right moment to start.
Well, this novel isn’t going to see the light of day until I write something I can live with. So I guess I better stop… blog-rastinating?… Pro-bloginating? Writing in my damn blog while I should be working on my novel.
Breaking through the beginning can sometimes be the hardest part. Once it’s down though the rest will, fingers crossed, flow through. Keep chipping away
Hi David, thanks for the comment. I’m working on it. Maybe I’ll check out this ‘Write.Publish.Repeat’ you speak of on your blog.
well worth the read. It mainly deals with indie publishing and promotion but it does dedicate a decent amount to their writing process pre and post production
Hey David, thanks for the book recommendation. I brought it with me on a cabin trip into the boonies of Oregon (where Internet access is in short supply). Serious I’m not even sure this reply will be successful. Well worth the read!