J. Marshall Gordon
If you’ve ever written a story, you know how easily the first few paragraphs kind of write themselves. You wake up one morning, toss down your juice, slug a mug of coffee, and cannot wait to commit your fully formed story to the page. Perhaps you crack your knuckles as the computer comes to life, take a deep breath, and find your story rippling through your fingers onto the keys.
Thanks so much for contributing this post, John! You definitely found an interesting profession for your protagonist (and an interesting setting for your novel).
Nice post here, John–good points about backstory and forward motion and good reflections on critique groups too. Congrats on the book!
Art – Thanks for taking the time to read my post. As I have said many times, the learning curve for a newbie is steep. And I’ll admit that it took several workshops to whittle the opening backstory and move it piecemeal throughout the first few chapters.
Really enjoyed this. I thought you weaved the backstory in well while I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the body. The book cover is beautiful and brings in the landscaping background and ponds, and of course, the body. I had to look twice to see the body on the cover. Good job.