I thought about necro'ing (is that even how you spell it??) an old thread, but I'll just start a new one. I have received two criticisms from my novel based on the introduction, so I want to toss out what I have done and see if I can get some differing opinions on how to fix it, if possible.
The first 10 pages on my novel begin with the 'chaos' caused by the antagonist that thrusts this kingdom (yeah, it's a fantasy...) into upheaval. There are a few characters introduced, but many of them are killed off later (hence the chaos). The MC is introduced on page 11 and is simply an unsuspecting girl who has no real connection to anyone introduced at the beginning. She is thrust into the situation by chance (which ends up being not so much chance later) and finds herself as the only one able to defeat the antagonist.
So my question is this. Many seem to agree that the MC should always be introduced at first (and when I hear something like that's the way it should always be my 1st instinct is to as why, but I suppose bending barriers should be left up to those who have already established themselves) so should I set those first ten pages aside as a prologue? Is that something I could get away with? Once the MC is introduced, the reader stays by her side and never leaves. Also, maybe this is really testament to my inability to keep a reader interested through even the first ten pages and into the introduction of the MC.
Anyway, I'll leave it up to the professionals to help me along. I am but a 38 yr old newborn baby trying to learn to run a marathon before I can even crawl in this critical world of writing.
The first 10 pages on my novel begin with the 'chaos' caused by the antagonist that thrusts this kingdom (yeah, it's a fantasy...) into upheaval. There are a few characters introduced, but many of them are killed off later (hence the chaos). The MC is introduced on page 11 and is simply an unsuspecting girl who has no real connection to anyone introduced at the beginning. She is thrust into the situation by chance (which ends up being not so much chance later) and finds herself as the only one able to defeat the antagonist.
So my question is this. Many seem to agree that the MC should always be introduced at first (and when I hear something like that's the way it should always be my 1st instinct is to as why, but I suppose bending barriers should be left up to those who have already established themselves) so should I set those first ten pages aside as a prologue? Is that something I could get away with? Once the MC is introduced, the reader stays by her side and never leaves. Also, maybe this is really testament to my inability to keep a reader interested through even the first ten pages and into the introduction of the MC.
Anyway, I'll leave it up to the professionals to help me along. I am but a 38 yr old newborn baby trying to learn to run a marathon before I can even crawl in this critical world of writing.