This chapter, along with a few others, were added AFTER I finished my initial draft. The book had been through a couple of beta readers, and while reviews were favorable, I felt something didn’t flow. It felt like a connection to tie some of the pieces together were missing.
This also came after reading a critic on Twitter that said that the catalyst to drive a novel should happen in the first few pages. While that is still not the case with BROKEN BOARDS, I felt the addition of this chapter and the ensuing chapter three would help spark interest in moving forward with the novel.
Chapters Two and Three establish the foundation of the dark side of the story. We get a glimpse into what will push the mystery forward. I used this chapter to establish an over arcing history and then use the following chapter to introduce the real bad guys.
Next week’s chapter three breakdown will discuss the creation of the bad guys and their characteristics in greater detail.
Perhaps this isn’t considered a normal structure or design to approaching a novel. I’m not going to use the fact that this was my first novel as an excuse. Instead, I’m going to say that I wanted to use my style and my voice in an effort to set myself apart. I’ve read a lot of detective and mystery novels in recent years, and there was no set established formula, structure, or style.
At the end of the day, I wanted to create interesting characters that were involved in something that felt real and tangible. I wanted characters that experienced real emotions and expressed them in ways that felt genuine.
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JB