Yes, the third rewrite of my third novel is finished and the editors are reading it once more. At the moment I’ve got notes and research materials for two more novels scattered about my home office so I guess it’s time to set my hooks in the first chapter of another novel.
Since I write fast-paced thrillers, my first chapter always has to be interesting. I know where I’m going with the storyline in general (I hate to outline my chapters although I have been known to do it) but I like getting that first chapter just right. Thinking back to my debut novel, I must have rewritten my first chapter twenty times. For awhile I even identified it as a prologue. With my second novel, my third chapter became chapter one after I had a critical review. The reviewer said she would have been hooked if I had started with chapter three. I had to agree and moved it up. Let’s see. Ah yes, I’ve got to have the discovery of a dead body. Now how does he die?
