The problem starts here.
My wife has gone to school for creative writing, so I've learned what she has learned second hand. I've always been interested in writing, and have always considered myself a writer, however, when she reads a bit of my writings she tells me that what I am doing from time to time may be confusing to the reader. She is right most of the time, and i go back and revise. She and I, however, disagree on this issue, and i am looking for advice from some other writers since i dont know anyone else besides my wife who would have quality feedback.
I wanted to break up timeline to show simultanious events in different places.
I started out with a character that is moderately important, and in fact dies rather early on in the story. I intentionally lead the reader into thinking this character is my MC to give his death a large shock.
I switch from this mock MC to another character who is a hired criminal, he shows his life, his style, his past etc... just as the previous character.
The story in both sections lead up to their meeting.
Once the killer does his killing the perspective changes from the mock MC's point of view to his killer's point of view. The story is about the killer.
Is this a bad way to start a story? I don't believe that the time will be wasted on developing this mock-MC in the begining, because it establishes that the person killed is a living breathing human being with a family and kids and a job he hates etc... I just dont want it to become too confusing.
My first draft isn't finished yet, so this sort of fix will be rediculously easy, that's why I am asking now as opposed to later.
My wife has gone to school for creative writing, so I've learned what she has learned second hand. I've always been interested in writing, and have always considered myself a writer, however, when she reads a bit of my writings she tells me that what I am doing from time to time may be confusing to the reader. She is right most of the time, and i go back and revise. She and I, however, disagree on this issue, and i am looking for advice from some other writers since i dont know anyone else besides my wife who would have quality feedback.
I wanted to break up timeline to show simultanious events in different places.
I started out with a character that is moderately important, and in fact dies rather early on in the story. I intentionally lead the reader into thinking this character is my MC to give his death a large shock.
I switch from this mock MC to another character who is a hired criminal, he shows his life, his style, his past etc... just as the previous character.
The story in both sections lead up to their meeting.
Once the killer does his killing the perspective changes from the mock MC's point of view to his killer's point of view. The story is about the killer.
Is this a bad way to start a story? I don't believe that the time will be wasted on developing this mock-MC in the begining, because it establishes that the person killed is a living breathing human being with a family and kids and a job he hates etc... I just dont want it to become too confusing.
My first draft isn't finished yet, so this sort of fix will be rediculously easy, that's why I am asking now as opposed to later.
