If I’m not hooked by the opening…

No one else will be.

I rewrite the first chapters of my books more than any other part of the story. I don’t write outlines before I start writing a new story. I typically have an idea and just go with it, then along the way the plot and character development get figured out and I write an ending I really like. Once I know what the heck my book is about, I have to go back to the beginning and rewrite it as if I knew I what I was doing all along. Sometimes I have a great idea for a hook, but most of the time I rewrite that first chapter over and over again. Introducing the characters and kicking off the main quest are crucial so it makes sense that I work on it so many times.

I just did it again with book two of the Dreamcatcher series. I was reading Dreamweaver Ch. 1 and realized that I wasn’t really hooked which means no one else will be! I scrapped it again and restarted with the focus firmly on what I consider this book’s most important character arc. And I’m already happier with chapter one. Will I work on it some more? Probably. But that’s ok. I have to hook readers from the beginning or they won’t stick with me to see the amazing things that happen later in the book.

Fingers crossed that more edits are as obvious as this one!