So today I couldn’t handle not looking at my manuscript. I changed a few words (nothing major) but I also looked at my first chapter. Now a lot of agents want a query letter, and the first five pages of your manuscript. I looked at my first five pages, and I like them, but I wonder if they are the right five pages.
Since I decided to write in present tense, I always worried that within 5 pages of my book, I have a flashback. The flashback is funny, according to most readers, but it is kind of early on. I worry that agents, as well as potential mass readers, might find this jarring. So today I decided to rearrange it a bit. I moved things all around to configure the first 2 chapters differently. The result of this ended up dividing the material of them into 3 chapters. Now the first five pages are certainly more streamlined, but I’m not sure they are any better for it. I worry that while this might make the book seem more conventional, it hurts the tone of the piece. As the funny stuff doesn’t come in until chapter 2.
I guess I won’t know how people feel, till I get feedback, but it is nice to have a plan.
