I met with a critique partner today who returned chapter one of my One Juror Down sequel. She is in the position of not having read One Juror Down, and so was coming to the material fresh.
   Having read my chapter, she thinks that I am doing an information dump in the first couple pages, and I should get rid of it all and start with the end of the first scene, then try to lace the backstory in later.
   I admit I tend to have this problem, and did exactly this cut and interlacing process with Gunshot Grange. But this book is a sequel.
   How much backstory do we need to provide for 1) a reader who didn't read book one and 2) for the person returning after quite some time. When do we need to provide it for reader comfort? I was thinking mystery series mode, where a returning reader can pretty much skip a few pages at the beginning while the detective dumps a quickie synopsis of his/her past life. For instance, you see this in the Sue Grafton novels. But this book is romance with mystery elements. So what is appropriate? The heroine of this book is the sister of the heroine in the first. The plot of the first book is critical to the plot of the second. But do you need to understand the heroine's past on page one?
   I think one key problem is boredom. If I start with the information dump, as cleverly as I thought I had presented it, it might come off as boring. So I think I'm convinced I need to start with more of a scene than introspection. But then what? Dump or continue...I am enjoying this new set of challenges!

 

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