Book Stress

I haven't told anyone about this blog yet. Why? I'm not really sure. It's probably partially because I haven't told many people at all that I'm actually writing a fiction book. I think I could count the number of people who know on one hand. Well, maybe one hand and a couple fingers.

So I'm sitting here, half watching CSI, and trying to rewrite Chapter 2 of the novel. It's a combination mystery/romance novel. There's crime, injury, love, sex, and action. It's the type of book I love to read.

The first four chapters are the hardest. In them, I need to set the scene, let the reader know what's going on and give them clues that they will hopefully only start to put together before the end of the book. When I first wrote them, they were horribly boring. I felt like I had to write EVERYTHING down. I was spelling out everything for the reader. But readers are intelligent. They don't want everything spelled out for them. A friend helped me understand that. Actually, two friends.

So now I'm going back through the first four chapters and cutting stuff. Some of what I'm cutting will make it back into later chapters - peppered here and there throughout the story. Some of it will end up on my clipboard, to be purged next time I reboot.

I hope this book is a success. I've poured so much of my heart and soul into the writing - not to mention my very small allotment of free time - that I'm desperate to make this work.

-fingers crossed