Start with the second chapter

When I teach people to write, we often talk about beginnings. I remember a workshop years ago with a wonderful writer (who has since been published) and the first chapter of her book. She had titled it a prologue, and I could understand why she began the book with it. Basically, it was the whole back story that the plot was based upon. It explained everything. It was well written and interesting. But it didn't move the story along. No action. No dialogue. Just a bunch of descriptive, beautifully wrought phrases that built a spectacular background.

The story itself . . . wow. It hit you in the middle of the forehead from the very beginning, then reached down, grabbed your throat and made you gasp until the writer ended that chapter. There was time to sigh and think, then you wanted to continue -- and once again, she had you by the throat, your eyes bugging out as you ran the words through your brain, choking for breath, until the chapter ended. And thus it continued throughout the whole novel.

I said during that workshop, "Dump the prologue. You don't need it. You can insert a couple of words or a phrase of history every once in a while, but the reader doesn't need the whole history. You wrote the prologue for yourself."

She resisted, we argued, but eventually, she dumped the prologue. And, man, did it improve the book.

I am remembering that lesson now because I'm teaching it again. To myself.

Tonight, I'm looking at the prologue for my Izzy book and the first chapter, and I'm going to take out my scalpel and cut, cut, cut. Hopefully, there will be very little bleeding.