Chapter Shuffling

Well, this is something I can say I have a fair amount of experience with.


It's not easy, it's often painful, but it is often necessary to make a book better and the narrative and flow more effective.
Have you ever reached a point where you know that something isn't working, but you love everything you've written and know every point you've made has to go into the final draft? (Oh, the unattainable joys of perfect writing.)
Well, chances are that this little chapter you've put in where Chapter 3 would go would work just as well - if slightly tweaked - as Chapter 5. It may not be nice; having to say to the chapter "Sorry, I can think of something that will fit here better than you." just so you can add in that lovely piece of exposition and add to the tension of you new Chapter 5, but in the end it'll be better for your overall story.

I've had a lot of issues of chapters no longer seeming to fit where they are: whether it's due to a certain piece of information that needs to go beforehand, but it won't fit into any of the previous chapters, or just that the flow isn't working as it is. I said a few posts ago that I had to cut out my prologue: well, now I'm adding it back in - with a lot of editing - as my chapter 2 and shifting my former Chapter 2 to Chapter 4. It's meant a lot of moving things around, but I'm happier with the overall result.


And one more tip:
If you decide to completely cut a chapter, never delete it! Just remove it from your main manuscript and make a note of why you cut it. You never know: it could be used again, much later.

Thanks for reading (I don't really think anyone is, but for some reason I'm still updating)
W-O xxx