So I took a major executive decision. A large literary axe was drawn and brought firmly down on my prologue. It’s been a flab of wordy flesh dangling off the novel for months and although the backstory is important it turns out it can be incorporated later on in the story without much difficulty and besides, agents hate them, readers skip them and every single article I read about them over the past year has been desponding about them. So it’s gone. On the cutting room floor. It was a nice scene to be honest and I always liked how it started but the first chapter is so important when submitting to agents and publishers that I couldn’t risk it. Get to the point in the first few pages. Grab em and keep em…!!!
I love this blog on Writing by Ellen Brock check out her advice on opening chapters
https://thewriteditor.wordpress.com/first-chapter-mistakes-and-cliches/
Putting Pen to Paper 