What is editing? Ask someone unfamiliar with writing, and they’ll likely say something about correcting grammar and spelling. But editing is so much more. Grammar and spelling checks come right at the end of the process. Before that, we have developmental editing. This deals with the story, with the pacing and the character arcs. It looks at the big picture. There’s no point worrying about commas if the story itself doesn’t yet ‘work’.

I’ve started this stage of editing on my first draft now (the first draft of the main series novel, not the side-story). I’ve read through the draft, making notes along the way‌—‌what works well, and more importantly what doesn’t.

Even with a plan, the first draft is where the writer finds the story. Characters come alive as words appear on the page, and they do things we don’t always predict. The story can veer from that original plan in all kinds of ways.

There is also a great deal of ‘explaining’. When I write a first draft, I’m discovering my story, my characters and the world they inhabit. To make this all appear realistic, I need to understand this. So, in a first draft, I’ll always have scenes where I’m learning these things. But the reader doesn’t need too much of this, only enough to feel immersed.

This is especially true of the opening. Why? Because a story’s opening has to be strong. An opening has to hook the reader so they can’t wait to read on.

One technique for openings is ‘in medias res’‌—‌starting in the middle of the action. Think of the classic James Bond films. They start with the climax of a mission, full of stunts and excitement. Or the opening to Star Wars, with a large spacecraft being chased and fired on by one even larger. Or the first Indiana Jones film, where Indy’s facing all those traps. Of course, in media res doesn’t have to be physical action. We could open with an argument, or a funeral, or someone being fired from their job.

But there are problems with starting this way. How should the reader feel about this action? Who should they be rooting for? Without knowing anything about the characters, why should they care what happens? Action without some kind of emotional attachment is like a roller-coaster ride‌—‌fun while it lasts, but soon forgotten, and having very little lasting meaning.

I’m writing space-opera, so I could open with a scene focusing on world-building‌—‌maybe have a character introduced to a new environment, and have the reader learn all about this setting through that character’s interactions. It might not get the adrenaline pumping, but it might intrigue enough to encourage further reading. And, in a story with a large scope, a slow build might be more appropriate.

That word‌—‌’appropriate’‌—‌is an important one. The opening has to set the tone for the whole book, even the whole series. It has to set expectations. Opening with a couple of friends enjoying a peaceful day off work might not be suited to a dark tale of galactic pirates. Starting with a character being chased by wild animals won’t necessarily work for a light-hearted cyberpunk story.

I should caveat this by saying there are no hard and fast rules in writing. The above examples could work. It depends on how well the writer drip-feeds enough to hint at the ‘proper’ story. So there might be inconsistencies in that ‘peaceful’ day, things that are said and done which feel slightly off. The character being chased might mutter humorous lines while checking their cyborg abilities.

And there are far more ways to open a story. I don’t have time to explore them all here.

In my novel, I have another complication (because I’m not making things easy for myself with this project!). In this first book I have three very distinct story arcs. They won’t fully come together until later in the series, so I need to ensure that there are enough touch-points between them that readers feel confident that they will eventually resolve in combination. But it also means I have three openings, one for each story arc.

Maybe this is an advantage‌—‌I can use different techniques for each arc. So the arc involving a crew of couriers pulled into a high-risk venture could start with action, allowing the reader to experience the crew in operation, being introduced to their particular skills as well as the interplay between them. The arc focusing on the more political situation in the galaxy might benefit from a world-building focus (through dialogue, enabling me to introduce this arc’s main characters at the same time). And the arc aboard a generation ship, an arc that starts with a mystery, might work best with an opening that makes the reader wonder what’s going on (although not so much that they’re likely to stop reading!).

Whatever opening(s) I use, I’ll need to make sure they introduce characters and the world, while being exciting and interesting enough to keep the reader reading. So, no pressure!

And with that, I should get back to the edit. I have those read-through notes to go through. With the arc I’m working on at the moment, I think I have about 5000 words before a suitable opening, but there are things in those pages that the reader needs to know, things I need to somehow make clear in this revised opening.

The first draft was only the start. In many ways, the first draft is the easy bit. Now I have the start of the hard work. But I can see a way through. Unity is coming together.

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This post is the latest in a series I’m running on Substack, chronicling my work on this new project. If you’d like to read these posts as they appear, please consider subscribing for free.