As I edit my tome into something more realistic, I have an increasing feeling, nay unrelenting desire not to start where I thought I should.
I have heard mentioned that stories should cut to the chase as soon as possible and bring the first significant event up close and personal in the first or second chapter. I'm not saying there aren't important events in Chapters One thru Fourteen; there are but the money event is in Chapter 15.
That said, making such a discovery is one thing, acting upon it another. Being ruthless is one way to go but trying to integrate much of my characters' stories created in those fourteen chapters feels daunting.
Advice. How should I approach it? What do I try to retain and what do I forget?
I have heard mentioned that stories should cut to the chase as soon as possible and bring the first significant event up close and personal in the first or second chapter. I'm not saying there aren't important events in Chapters One thru Fourteen; there are but the money event is in Chapter 15.
That said, making such a discovery is one thing, acting upon it another. Being ruthless is one way to go but trying to integrate much of my characters' stories created in those fourteen chapters feels daunting.
Advice. How should I approach it? What do I try to retain and what do I forget?