On rewriting the first chapter,

I'm confused. Maybe it's too late for me, maybe I'm not reading enough English...

You want to copy, word for word, a first chapter of a story? Now, I know some people swear by it, IMO it's just a waste of typing. I think you're better off dissecting and studying it sentence by sentence rather than blindly copying it down*. Better yet, study and dissect as you're reading (takes quite a lot of practice to get down).

And, generally the style of writing for popular fiction changes quite often, but then there's many books that have a style that works very well with today's readers. I say, find books that have writing that you enjoy reading--regardless of age, or what others think of it--and do whatever you wish with it.

*Your mind can enter a automatic mode where you're simply copying or repeating something without thinking of what you're actually doing.

Sorry, not sure what you're asking. You want to rewrite the first chapter of every book you've ever read? By rewrite, do you mean try to improve on it, or just make it different?

And why would you do this? What are you hoping to accomplish?

I know what you're talking about. You want to rewrite the first chapters of some of your favorite books. I only recently read about this method, but in theory it sounds like a great idea. Those "brush strokes" you're talking about refer to diction, phrasing, style, etc. I think the most useful thing to come from this would be finding how to analyze pacing.

Personally, I have a hard time with pacing sometimes. I feel like I've gotten the hang of it, actually, but I've realized that if I write longhand my perception of time changes and my pacing changes. Because it takes me longer to write longhand, the story moves faster because I have less of an idea of how time is passing in my fictional world relative to the real world.

Nothing's stopping you from going over the rest of the chapters, either. The only thing is I don't really see an advantage to this. I think it might actually be better to choose multiple authors and go over their first chapters (or maybe pick a random chapter here or there - nothing says it has to be the first chapter). By analyzing multiple authors' writing styles and the choices they make in their writing, you'll get a better idea about the vast diversity in writing styles.

I don't think it's a secret that some of us want to emulate our favorite writers (while also retaining a sense of uniqueness that only we can bring to our writing).

Good luck, and let me know how this works out for you

JustSarah said:

The only one I've read over twice is a science fiction novel published in 1984. Is there any partially danger from learning from the style of older books?

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Not only is there no danger, it's one of the best things you can do. I've probably read a thousand novels more than once, and many of them are from the nineteenth century.

I read every classic novel in genres I love. Modern readers really are any different than readers of a hundred years ago. Style has changed somewhat, but not nearly as much as many think. We use updated language now, but this comes naturally.

But if I write like Mark Twain, I get a sale. If I write like Jack London, I get a sale. If I write like Robert Heinlein, I get a sale.

There are a few overblown, flowery, author-intrusion writers that wouldn't work today without some trimming, but most of the classic writers wrote beautifully, and the only change needed is updated language.

But I've never read a book that didn't teach me a great deal more on the second read than on the first, so I read every novel I really like more than once. There are some I've read a dozen times or more, and many of these are a lot older than 1984.

I am unclear as to the exact question or concern in the original post, but ff the question is about reading, and studying how other authors have written the opening chapters (even those published in the 1980s), and then inserting your own writing style to rewrite to see how it works out, as a learning experience to apply to one's own works, I think it's a solid method.

I read and reread certain authors, learning how they did certain things (write standalone novels within a series, use of description and dialogue, etc.). I see how they did it, taking notes and then applying those lessons to my writing style and current novel.

If this is what I think it's referring to, it's recommended all the time to help writers get a feel for [insert whatever they are trying to get a feel for].

Just like when art students are encouraged to copy works of art for improvement.

I was doing it, mainly retyping an entire book but got only a few chapters in before I had to stop because of life.

It did help me get a feel for pacing scenes and chapters.

The best advice I've ever seen on rewriting Chapter one is going on right now in Patricia Wrede's blog. Start here. She identifies specific problems that require you revise the first chapter.

The problem with revising another author's published work is that it may not have those problems. If it doesn't have critical flaws, it shouldn't be revised. You can pick it apart to learn from it, but be careful that you don't train yourself to fiddle around with prose that already works. That way lies madness.

While reading the Classics is a great idea, you may want to branch out to at least your current field just so you understand what your target audience wants.

I have to admit that while the idea of rewriting the first chapter of every book you've ever read sounds interesting in theory, I don't know that it's practical for everyone. Speaking only for myself, I've probably read 5,000 books, and many of them are currently unavailable, at least to me. Even if they were, that would mean ten million words even if the chapters averaged only 2,000 words.

I'd suggest trying it with a few books or authors you either really like or really dislike.