The first round of edits continues.
I got up to the fourth chapter when I realized it was completely out of place. It was practically all exposition/background story, save for a short action sequence at the beginning, and it disrupted the flow of the novel. By this point in the book, the MC has already received his call to adventure, so I couldn't do a flashback.
What to do, what to do?
I tried moving the chapter up in line, but it just didn't make sense to do a flashback so early. The chapter explained a lot of things about the universe in which the story resides, but the MC hadn't yet been solidly introduced to the audience. It was a hard decision, but I had to slash the whole chapter. I guess thats a sign of mature writing, but it doesn't hurt any less.
I did comb through it, however, and pick out the vital pieces of background information to be worked into conversations in other chapters. The actual event that happened in that chapter... by the time its relevant to the story for this first book we'll be ready for Act 2. And I'm not slowing the pace of the middle part of the story for a flashback. It will likely be recycled for Book 2, as I planned on having a very similar scene to kick that book off anyway.
Something else that recently came up... apparently there's bias in the writing industry towards prologues. Unbeknownst to me. It puts me in a rough spot, because the "prologue" that I have is vital to the entire series. It has to be the first scene, but it takes place outside of the main story, so I'm not sure if I can recategorize it as "Chapter One." Either way, it will be the first scene in the book. It can't be helped.
Decisions.
UPDATE: Rowling's Chapter One of Harry Potter Numero Uno is essentially a prologue. But its her Chapter One. I guess I know what I'm doing, then. Now, about the epilogue...
