Not sure if this is in the right forum or not; apologies, if not!
I've got the first half of my fantasy novel about selkies pretty well outlined, but I'm debating on how to start the book off.
Currently, I have the first chapter written in several scenes. The first scene shows a young selkie and her mother in their human forms on the beach. This sets up the premise of being seal shape-shifters, and characterizes the close, loving relationship between mother and daughter. It also sets up the daughter (my protagonist) as being fascinated with the beach and life on land. They are forced to quickly transform back to seal form when they hear human voices further along the beach.
The second scene is set two years later, when the protag roughly corresponds to a 10- or 11-year-old girl. She visits the beach often, typically against her mother's wishes, and has made a sort of "cabinet of curiosities" in a cliffside cave (think Ariel's cave of wonders in The Little Mermaid, but not underwater). One afternoon, she leaves her sealskin on the rocks to warm in the sun, and proceeds to venture into her cave. She spends some time there, exploring its depths, when all of a sudden she hears the distant sound of several men speaking. One of the men has discovered her skin, annnd... the story takes off from there.
Does it sound like the first scene between mother and daughter is necessary? I suppose the fact that I'm considering cutting it means it probably isn't critical to the plot, but I'm rather undecided.
I've got the first half of my fantasy novel about selkies pretty well outlined, but I'm debating on how to start the book off.
Currently, I have the first chapter written in several scenes. The first scene shows a young selkie and her mother in their human forms on the beach. This sets up the premise of being seal shape-shifters, and characterizes the close, loving relationship between mother and daughter. It also sets up the daughter (my protagonist) as being fascinated with the beach and life on land. They are forced to quickly transform back to seal form when they hear human voices further along the beach.
The second scene is set two years later, when the protag roughly corresponds to a 10- or 11-year-old girl. She visits the beach often, typically against her mother's wishes, and has made a sort of "cabinet of curiosities" in a cliffside cave (think Ariel's cave of wonders in The Little Mermaid, but not underwater). One afternoon, she leaves her sealskin on the rocks to warm in the sun, and proceeds to venture into her cave. She spends some time there, exploring its depths, when all of a sudden she hears the distant sound of several men speaking. One of the men has discovered her skin, annnd... the story takes off from there.
Does it sound like the first scene between mother and daughter is necessary? I suppose the fact that I'm considering cutting it means it probably isn't critical to the plot, but I'm rather undecided.
Especially those bits of conversation I'll never remember.