Polish does the novel good

I've been failing to accept the very thing I've posted in the past, which is that I have to be willing to edit things out of my novel. Rewrite them completely if necessary. I finally accepted that my first chapter simply isn't cutting it. I love my first chapter the way it is, but sadly there's something missing. I can't even tell what it is.

I do however know who I have to thank for helping me come to this realization. A little self-help book called "Self-Editing For Fiction Writers". You can find it [here] at Amazon.com.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The section on beats alone changed the tone of my novel entirely. Every time I sit down to do an editing run on my novel I go through and reread the parts of this book I highlighted on my first read. It keeps me centered and focused. I'll say it again, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.