I’m not thinking about a life-changing decision, I’m thinking about one of my books. I wrote it some time ago and it took a long time in the writing as I was at work at the time. I loved the beginning, I was really proud of it, I though it was one of the best scenes in the story, every time I did a rewrite I might tinker with the odd word, but essentially it was unchanged… it was perfect…
However… it’s suddenly struck me that maybe this isn’t the gem I thought it was; it’s fine as a scene in the book, it’s a vital part of the whole narrative, it’s what triggers all the events which follow… but supposing, supposing it’s in the wrong place? Supposing a prospective reader glances at it and thinks “Oh fiddle-de-dee that is tosh” or something along those lines?
I suddenly thought this as I was rereading it… the first chapter seems so stilted, and later chapters seem much more interesting and engaging. Supposing I conceal the cataclysmic event which starts the nightmare ball rolling, supposing it comes in a little later? It needs to be near the beginning… but maybe not the beginning.
The marvellous thing about word processing is that you can play around like this with changing where things happen. I remember when I used to handwrite my stories;sometimes having to write out everything all over again was helpful, I’ll admit, but sometimes it was such a chore and the creativity began to tarnish.
Hmmm, I must think about this and maybe have a little play with ordering!
Lois Elsden 