I really struggled with the opening of this chapter. I kept sitting down to edit it, but I’d inevitably get bored and find myself doing something else. Today, I attempted to edit the opening three pages for the third time. Then it hit me: if I’m bored, won’t my readers be too?
At the end of chapter one, I tried to give the reader a sense of direction. They have their mission and now they must go interrogate the subject. For some reason, I decided to end the chapter with them walking to go interrogate her and when I picked up again, they were still walking there. There are a few problems with this. Firstly, it’s not interesting. Secondly, a new chapter is supposed to be a break from the previous scene. Why is it a new chapter if they are still doing the same thing?
My initial thought was to extend chapter one because the first three pages, while they are walking, are packed with some heady and insightful reminders about the first book in the serial and some commentary about where the main character is at emotionally. There’s a problem with that too, I used up three boring pages to tell the reader that the character wasn’t coping well instead of using those three pages to show them. If Leslie is heartbroken about losing his dad, he probably isn’t just thinking that it feels bad. He’s probably acting out, because that’s what people do. Hurting people hurt people.
Now, I can’t go extreme with this because he is still the protagonist, but it wouldn’t be far fetched to allow him space to lash out at his coworkers or start to stumble into a substance abuse issue. Like I said, he’s not doing a great job at coping to begin with.
Those three pages were cut and amazingly, I was able to fit the same amount of information into just a few lines of snippy dialogue. Instead of three pages of mind-numbing walking backstory, the readers are dropped right into the interrogation room where Leslie and Elena are attempting to question the subject. Leslie is upset about his father’s untimely demise and it’s only been a few weeks. He doesn’t have the patience to care about what minor crime this alien was picked up for. He wants to solve this case so he can hurry up and get back to Earth where he can seek revenge on his father’s killer.
I am sharing this because I have been stuck with these pages for over two years. The chapters are rough, and it’s been difficult to take time to sit down and revisit them. Mostly, I lost sight of what the real goal of this book was. The overarching story line with Leslie and his complicated relationship with his father and his lost heritage should overshadow the little, uninteresting moments that currently cloud the shadows.
Editing has been described as crafting a beautiful marble statue. It might be more accurate to describe my first drafts as a tipped over filing cabinet. There’s some important stuff in there, some interesting stuff, and a whole lot of garbage you need to sort through to find it.
Maybe these little corrections I’ve made to this chapter will help you find the motivation to sit down and edit one of your own. Now, I have the rest of the chapter to go through.
Update – 10/15: I did finish editing this chapter and the rest of the changes were overall minor. I look forward to chapter three!
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