“No plot survives first contact with the writing of any of my novels.”
–Dana Stabenow
(with apologies to Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke the Elder)
At the moment I’m working on the second Harvey Girl novel, The Iron Trail. At the behest of my editor I wrote a six-page outline consisting of chapter numbers with a paragraph each describing what happens in that chapter.
I wrote the first two and a half chapters, and then paused when the muse tapped me on the shoulder and said in my ear, “This is boring, for crying out loud, Dana, have you never learned the difference between a passive and an active introduction to a novel, remember Mickey Spillane!”*
So I trashed the first three chapters and started over. The novel now begins with a truly grisly murder in the first chapter and introduces the main character in the second, including backstory (I never forget my first editor when I complained about having to always fill in backstory in a series so new readers always know where they are–“Welcome to the world of genre fiction, Dana.”)
So now, at last, we’re off to the races. We better be, because the book is due on July 31st. Later–
*
The first line sells the rest of the book.
–Mickey Spillane
He also said
The last line sells the next book.
–Mickey Spillane
He was right and wise both times and you should listen to him.
#thiswritinglife Chatter The Harvey Girl beginnings Mickey Spillane