A beta reader told me to cut my first three chapters and I was mad for a week

They said the story actually starts when the main character gets on the train, not with all that backstory about her childhood. I deleted 40 pages and suddenly the pacing made sense. Has anyone else had a stranger's feedback turn out to be right after you sat on it for a bit?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrew_nguyen6429d agoMost Upvoted

Wait yeah that happened to me too. Used to hate cutting anything.

the_sandra29d ago

I mean I used to be one of those writers who thought every single word was precious and cutting anything would ruin the whole thing. But then my critique group basically told me my first chapter was just me warming up and the real story started on page 15. I fought it for a solid two weeks, kept thinking they just didn't get my vision. Finally I just tried it, deleted like 12 pages of a character walking through a forest thinking about her mom, and suddenly the hook was right there. It stung so bad at first but now I honestly can't believe I was that attached to all that extra stuff.