As some of you may know from looking at my shared works, I am mid-progress with the re-editing of part one of my novel ready to complete as a first person, present tense drama piece. My question is, would a piece work best delving into the middle with the drama escalating from a dramatic start, or would it be best suited to add another part before the drama, enabling my readers to see the changed in the antagonist - this being my protagonist's husband? I don't want to lose the back stories I have weaving into part one - done so as chapters - but I also don't want my readers to be left confused by the events, that due to the topic are of a shocking nature. Sorry for the long-winded question, this novel just means everything to me and I want to get it as close to perfection as I can, since naturally nothing I write will be as good as those on the shelves at Waterstones or WH Smith. Thank you all who answer... Desperate Writer.
They say novels with a dramatic opening work best, and I find that difficult to do at the same time as introducing the main character(s) who readers should be beginning to sympathise with (or hate) by the end of the first chapter. I guess it depends a little on your genre - I write historical action adventure so I try to begin with an opening line that grabs attention and increase the tension from there.
Structure is something you can't always strictly adhere to because it's at the mercy of your plot, though that can sometimes be tweaked so you get peaks and troughs through the story with high points gradually increasing in drama as you move towards a conclusion.
Ha - it's easy to say but hard to achieve! Best of luck :)
Dear Victoria––you raise a delicate question needing an answer where the issue of trade-off is involved. But in the end, some critics would go for drama escalating from a dramatic start because the readers' attention needs to be caught there and then, wherever in the story you can. And as for the concern over your readers seeing the changes in the antagonist, it does not require a specific point in the plot. It can happen gradually. (Better not to reveal the changes in a character all at once.) A gradual revelation of changes can add elements of suspense to the story which is a valuable literary asset in works of fictional prose.