So anyway, I re-wrote chapter one to delete the prologue and it's not bad. That being said, not bad is not good enough. The problem isn't in identifying my protaganist. It's not in demonstrating the first crisis, (which has to be there or the primary crisis doesn't make sense.)
Did you figure it out yet? The first crisis sets up the second crisis which is the primary focus of the novel. I tried to work both into the first chapter but it makes it a very long chapter and doesn't carry the reader's interest. I'll be running tomorrow but Friday I'll try to find a way to work both of them into a single scene , like that's likely to happen, or greatly reduce the word counts without afffecting the drama or excitement. I have less than a week to go before I have to submit it to the group so I have to have the answer by this weekend. pressure, pressure, pressure.

for those of you that are writing YA, I highly recommend that you buy, beg, borrow or steal
a copy of the May/June Writer's Digest. It is a gold mine of information for us this issue. Check out the piece on page 21 and make a special point of reading "YA today which starts on page 26. It's also the 2010 version of 101 best websites for writers. This is a keeper to be sure.

If anyone is going to be at the SCBWI Michigan conference in Lansing on May 1, look me up. I'll be the one wandering around mumbling something like "Prologue, porologue, prologue, anyone know what to do witha prologue?"

Decisions, decisiions, decisions

Well, I've set the prologue problem aside until after the conference and moved on. My protagonist and his friends have just learned the fate of the missing boys and now must sort out the sparse clues available so far. Oh that's right, you don't know about the missing boys do you? Ah well, that's why you will have to buy the book when it comes out.

I'll be fair though and tell you this much. Three boys are mssing after a forest fire breaks out. Is that enough to pique your interest? I hope so because that's just about all you get for the time being. I can be so mean.

I struggled with their fate, having re-written the chapter at least a dozen times and consulting with several learned colleagues. I should have just asked my critique partners but they weren't around at the time it was written. It would seem a simple matter to document life or the end of life but in teen lit, it is not only important to determine the character's future or lack of, but in the way it is portrayed. I hope I chose the best way. I won't tell you much more about it because I'm still working on the chapter, but I promise to add bits and pieces as we travel down this road together.

The original draaft was 142 pages long, about 28,000 words. The inspiration came during a mystery writing session at the Highlights Chautauqua workshops in 2004. Now that is one experience that every writer of children's literature needs to have at least once in their life. My goal is to complete the novel and have it ready for submission by the end of summer so I can move on to the rewrite of my self published nightmare.

If I have learned anything at all that might be passed on to those of you just starting out, it is this. Never ever give up on your dream. Write for yourself and your family. Publication is not guarenteed by any means but satisfaction is if you remain true to yourself.

Many years ago, my grand-daughter, about seven at the time, gave me some advice that holds true to this date. When I couldn't think of a story to tell them at bedtime, she said, and I quote, "Just open your mouth Grandpa, it's in there. " After a slight revision, the poster on my wall now reminds me. "Just open your mind. It's in there."