Frontloaders

No writer is perfect. A great writer of dialogue may struggle with conveying action. A master of description could have issues with pacing. One person's strength could be another's weakness.

My weakness is openings. Well, particularly, first chapters. I'm all right with hooks and first lines. But I fall into the trap of "setting up" the rest of the book in that very important first chapter. They tend to be fact-heavy and reek of backstory. I dress it up with heavy doses of characterization and I introduce some of the more vibrant elements of the story. But overall, it's my weak point.

And I'm sure my beta-readers will point that out very soon. Oh, haven't you heard? My first copies of "Blackwatch" should be printing/shipping as we speak. As soon as they arrive I'll get them into the hands of my readers and start sweating bullets while I wait for their opinions. Maybe while I wait, I'll work on revising that pesky first chapter.

Nathan Bransford's guest blog post has given me some good pointers for doing just that. I'd suggest checking it out if you have the same difficulties as I do!

~VK