Chapter One . . .

Or why starting a story is like sowing a minefield.

There's backstory, for example. You need it in there. Some. A little. Enough to set the scene. But not too much. I'm back in chapter one because I decided I needed to start the book a day before I had started it -- and in the heroine's point of view, not the hero's. So it's her backstory -- and her minefield -- I am worrying about right now.

I can't have a ton of backstory or it begins to sound like 'info-dump.' But I need to set the scene, tell what's normal about her day -- and then explode the mine in the middle of it. The mine that will change the status quo, that will rattle her world. And I need enough hints of mines before and after that when they explode, too, it will seem inevitable to the reader. To Sadie it should feel like all the dumb stuff she ever did is coming back to haunt her. Or to save her.

But the picking and choosing of mines is a chore. Interesting, but painstaking. It seems to take hours to find just the right words.

In the meantime I'm burning dinner, so I guess I should go rescue it. And then get back to the minefield. Wish me luck!