I got my mermaid novel into rewrite mode this week after taking a couple of months off to let the feedback settle and get a bit of distance from it.
Reading through the notes was far more difficult than I thought it would be, not because they were bad notes or anything – just the opposite, but because:
a) it’s time consuming
b) criticism, no matter how well intended, is tough.
The first thing I did was acknowledge that being a mermaid story, it should probably start in the ocean. So I rewrote the first chapter – or more accurately, pushed the first chapter back and wrote an entirely new introduction.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me.
There isn’t much conflict that goes on in the water, and what there is I’m considering cutting back on. Almost the entire story is set on land. I could certainly introduce some more conflict (probably between the mermaids), but that creates an entirely new set of plot issues.
So that leaves me with two options – write some sort of ‘Indiana Jones’ style teaser, or go with what I have and try to make it better.
The Indiana Jones option has some appeal if I can find something suitable – something that introduces the main character (including her strengths and weaknesses), sets the tone of the story, and generally catapaults the reader into the action without otherwise being important to what happens next.
The current beginning is set on the beach and introduces the main character’s major internal conflict which leads into the main story. I works, but it could be better.
Any thoughts?