6
My writing group buddy told me to cut the first three chapters of my fantasy novel. I did it, and the story finally works.
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
claire_gibson3d ago
Wait, are you sure you didn't just lose a ton of important world-building? I've seen advice like that wreck a story's setup. Sometimes those early chapters are where the reader learns to care.
5
matthewmartin3d ago
Yeah, that's a really good point. Cutting too much too fast can totally backfire. I've read stories where the first few chapters got hacked apart and then nothing made sense later. It's a tough balance to find.
2
Remember how movies sometimes drop you right into a chase scene and explain the rules later. Your first three chapters were probably the "explain the rules" part. Maybe they were all setup with no real problem for the main character to solve. Cutting them forces the story to start with the character already in trouble, which is way more gripping. The world building sticks better when it's shown through the action, like learning about magic because the hero is using it to escape, not because a wise old man is giving a lecture.
5