Personally, I think knowing what should be in the first chapter of my books is extremely difficult. I've mulled over the statement, "Start with the moment a person's life is going to change because of the decision she or he has made. How difficult is that? Very. Too many times as an author I think I need to lead into this with backstory, introduction of characters and their biographies, which have nothing to do with when the action precisely begins that will lead my character or characters in ways that will change them for life. Because I do this over and over again, I can say truthfully it is extremely difficult to admit I need to toss my first chapter. Sometimes I have to toss the first two chapters because I'm giving to much background and taking too long to get into the action. Why? Because I think everyone needs to know about the person or persons I'm writing about and what makes them tick. Even though I know, sprinkling in little details about my characters is a much better way to write. In other words, I need to avoid information dumps at the beginning of the book. It is my belief, readers are more interested in the here and now, not the backgrounds of characters.
Presently, I'm writing a mystery set in a small town. For once, I think I've started in the correct place, with a murder. When I read mysteries, I'm captured the minute the action starts not after I've been told about the characters and what makes them tick and why they live in a small town where nothing happens. The book I'm currently reading, A STUDY IN DEATH, by Anna Lee Huber, lets me know in the first chapter something sinister is about to happen. I know nothing about the lives of either character, and I don't care. I'll find out as I read, but in the first chapter, I'm interested in the characters because of the way the author foreshadows some kind of happening that will hurt one of the characters and take the other on a new and dangerous adventure.
When I write, I'm a punster, but I do have a good idea the beginning, the plot, the theme, and how the book will end. In my present book, I'm trying something new. I've started in the right place. I'm writing in the first person and I feel I have a good flow to the mystery. My writing is faster and I'm two-thirds finished with it. The title is MURDER IN STOP OVER.
Presently, I'm writing a mystery set in a small town. For once, I think I've started in the correct place, with a murder. When I read mysteries, I'm captured the minute the action starts not after I've been told about the characters and what makes them tick and why they live in a small town where nothing happens. The book I'm currently reading, A STUDY IN DEATH, by Anna Lee Huber, lets me know in the first chapter something sinister is about to happen. I know nothing about the lives of either character, and I don't care. I'll find out as I read, but in the first chapter, I'm interested in the characters because of the way the author foreshadows some kind of happening that will hurt one of the characters and take the other on a new and dangerous adventure.
When I write, I'm a punster, but I do have a good idea the beginning, the plot, the theme, and how the book will end. In my present book, I'm trying something new. I've started in the right place. I'm writing in the first person and I feel I have a good flow to the mystery. My writing is faster and I'm two-thirds finished with it. The title is MURDER IN STOP OVER.
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