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Back to Question and AnswersOpening Chapter - help?
I'm just coming around to finishing the first draft of my first book, so I haven't even begun to edit yet, but need some feedback on the first chapter. If I get an idea of the quality, then that would help me to know how much work I have to do to bring it up to scratch, and give me an idea of what works. It's in my shared work area for anyone interested in reading it.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers, Alex
Asked by: Alex Smith
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Mark Rudd on July 26, 2012
Alex,
1Firstly, I enjoyed it, and I appreciate you commenting on my very similar question. So I will say this -
My knee jerk reaction was that I wanted to read more (this is good). It does cut both ways, however - if that's the complete first chapter, it's very, very short. It seems to be heading in a supernatural thriller direction, so short chapters will no doubt help keep the pace up, but I'd be careful of cramming if I were you.
I wouldn't presume to pick holes in another writer's prose, but my overall impression was that it is very readable. I agree with another commenter that knowing the MC's name would be a good idea.
Good luck and keep penning