Word Imperfect

Tonight I finished the first read through of my book with Taryn's notes. I did things a little differently than I'd planned too.  So here is my method.  I printed my manuscript in hard copy and placed it in a three ring binder.   I then went through and read it.  As I went I crossed out parts that needed to be cut, wrote notes about things that needed to be change, and marked areas where new scenes and chapters should be added. All told I cut about 7 chapters and nearly a dozen paragraphs from chapters I kept.  It was hard.  It was REALLY REALLY hard.  My hands literally shook when I cut my first full page.  I was sick to my stomach when I had to cut an entire chapter.  The words, these lines, these pages are my work.  I poured my heart and soul into them.  Crossing them out was the hardest thing I've done as a writer so far. My first cut chapter. Then way, you may ask, did I cut them?  Because it had to ...

"From the beginning" versus "In the midst of things" I have heard two very different schools of thought on where to start a story.  It is such a contested subject that there are words for both methods. Ab ovo: From the beginning.  Followers of this method argue that a reader cannot car about a story if they do not first care about the character.  In this method the story starts with the main characters day to day life and gives you an opportunity to get to know them and care about them.  This does not necessarily mean you see the them from birth, you just see their normal life before the inciting incident (the event that happens to the protagonist to change their life from the norm and sparks the action of the story). For example: We see Dorothy in Kansas before she goes to OZ.  We see Katniss in District 12 before the reaping.  We see Harry with the Dursleys before the owls start to show up.  There are many who start their stories in the most lo...