Words spoken by my dear partner the other day, as I was contemplating a Hollywood-style, high octane re-jig of the very first few chapters. You know the kind: a car chase, a murder, finding the absolute, shocking climax of the whole series and plonking it right in there, at the start.
“It’s too slow,” I was worrying. “Who will bear with it? It doesn’t get interesting until Maybelle finally makes her appearance in chapter 8.”
He sat and read the first chapters again, while I filled the dishwasher and tidied the kitchen, then he said it.
“You’ve written something beautiful. Don’t change it. Don’t do something different with it, just to try and sell it. You should keep it exactly as it is.”
He’s been with the writing of the trilogy throughout, reading every chapter as I wrote it and cheerleading the process along to the end and now, here he is again, empowering the editing. I don’t think I would have reached this point, without his encouragement.
Anyway, suffice to say and as you’ll know, if you read here a lot, I’m not keeping it exactly as it is, but nor am I radically changing the beginning, now. If Hollywood ever wants it, Hollywood can take care of the octane levels. My job is more centred around authenticity and the all-important flow.