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Dilemma

edited August 2015 in - Writing Problems
I am writing my book, 26 chapters done. I am editing when l decide that what was the beginning cannot be the beginning as its more of a middle. Not sure if that makes any logical sense at all.
I spent 4 hours today reading my chapters, trying to decide where the actual beginning was. How l ended up in this message l have no idea l think when l started l knew. But as my creative self took over, the. words just fell onto the pages, time vanished and within days l had 26 chapters l had my end.
My problem is do l use the haunting as the beginning, or do l lead into it by introducing the family first. The family are all wytches.

Comments

  • I apologise there is errors in this message it ought to say
    How l ended up in this mess.
  • edited August 2015
    Only you can decide which beginning is right of course, as you know the story.

    Editing can take time, and a number of drafts until it's ready, so don't worry.

    It's helpful to start with a point of change, or action, or dialogue because they make the reader connect with the character/s.

    Have you considered writing another beginning- if you can't see an alternative start point?
  • I'd been on my novel for over ten years before I realised I'd started it in the wrong place. Putting it right and ensuring it all hangs together is turning out to be a bit of a bother.
  • It's not etched in stone, NW. If it feels wrong it probably is. Change it - draft it out in its new form and see how it works. The writing process is rarely linear: and just because you thought of the beginning first doesn't mean that's where it has to be in the finished product.
    Decide whether you want to jump in with both feet, or wander around the scenery first: which works best? The former means you have to have a strong follow-on; the latter could either bore your reader, or draw them in - depends on how you do it. You won't know until you try it.
  • Hi Nanywytch, and welcome!

    As a reader, I dislike loads of backstory at the beginning of a book. If it gets boring, then I won't continue, whereas if you hook the reader in immediately, they've got no choice but to read on.

    As sm says, it can be difficult changing the order of something already written. I think the key issue is that as you're dismantling it, to save every chunk in separate files. Don't just delete a great big scene! And don't think that you have to use everything you've saved either. It's a good way of refining your work and realising what's important.
  • Always start right in the action. That's the way you hook your reader. Heck, it's the way you hooked yourself. Find ways of revealing the story about the witches as you go.
  • Agree with all of the above but be careful you don't mess up your time line when changing it - I hate timelines in previous work I've ended up with July after August and february between november and december that's probably ok if you're doing a time-slip type of thing but for detective fiction and Romcoms it's a bit of a disaster!!
  • It's very often a fact, that when writing one's first novel, the first chapter or two can be binned - as Liz says, start at "high" point to keep your readers hooked.
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