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I keep rewriting Chapter One - I am trying to include the theme in the first few lines/paragraphs. I need to know when to stop. :) Do you think it is important to try and include the theme in the first part of chapter one? Sometimes I read back what I have written, and it seems stilted. I am probably not writing naturally enough, as I am trying too hard to get Chapter One correct. Does anybody else have this problem?
Comments
Good luck.
:)
At the moment, my MC is mulling over a huge looming problem, and her fear of it and how to solve or avoid it seems to be the right place to start and bring the reader in.
I wouldn't worry too much, I don't know of a writer who writes a perfect first chapter straight off. Rather than trying to insert a 'theme' I recommend making sure you raise the question your book will answer. So, will boy get the girl? Will the police find out who killed Jane?
http://loutreleaven.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/chapter-one/
If you haven't written the rest of your book yet, Helen, then I wouldn't worry too much about introducing the theme right from the start. It may change as you go - for example, your story might initially be about betrayal, but end up being more about redemption by the time it's finished.
I must remember this advice when I start my next.