The official start of Charged with Folly

So I posted chapter 1 of Charged with Folly to the workshop. I hadn't planned on doing it this soon after starting the novel. It's still rough, and I like to get several chapters ahead before beginning. But I found myself itching to get on with it, to kind of force myself onward. Since I released chapter 1 and 2 to my local readers on Friday, and already got some reactions on chapter 1, the itch had even gotten worse. (And jasperh helped push me over the edge.) It feels like an official beginning to the novel once I've posted it to the 'shop.

Alas, if only later chapters were as easy to get hits on as chapter ones. Such is the nature of the beast and the serialization of novels. Still, the OWW model works for me because what I'm chiefly looking for with first drafts is whether the superstructure is credible (not polished, but credible): characterization, pacing, plotting, worldbuilding, etc. You can get a fairly good idea of that even in serialization.

Although arguably not so much as with a dedicated read through of the whole novel, the serialization at least keeps me thinking about what needs fixing once the draft is finished and allows me to push on without having to go back and obsessively fix everything. I've got a record in my OWW crits of all that and can relax about it. I find having a dedicated read through of the second draft, after I've fixed all the places where I've change course in the plot, the language, and etc., much more beneficial because the first draft is allowed to be inconsistent and messy so I can get the damned thing written. After the second draft I've lost some perspective and can use an objective outside opinion on the whole enchilada.

Which brings up another question: what should I fix for dinner? ☺