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Cutting exposition dumps in opening chapters
Below is the opening of my manuscript. I suspect it's front-loaded with exposition, backstory, or worldbuilding that's slowing the reader down before they care about anything. Confirm or deny, and fix it.
Opening pages:
opening_pages
1. Mark every paragraph that is pure exposition/backstory with no present-tense scene action happening (no character doing, deciding, or reacting to anything in real time).
2. For each marked paragraph, decide: cut entirely, compress to one sentence woven into action later, or keep but move to a point where the reader has already earned a reason to care about it.
3. Identify the actual first moment where a character wants something and something is in their way, that's likely your real opening; tell me the page/paragraph it's on.
4. Rewrite the opening target_word_count words starting as close to that moment as possible, letting backstory leak in through action and dialogue instead of upfront delivery.
5. Be honest if the current opening is fine and I'm wrong to worry, don't manufacture problems.