B.B. Boudreau

Novelist | Singer

Ack! Backstory

Yeah, The Frenchman was fun to write. Really, really fun. Even the hard parts were really, really fun. So I decided to keep going and write a sequel, which doesn’t yet have a title. Same cast, continuing story. It’s great and it was fun, really, really fun. Except for one part.
BACKSTORY
Why did I think I could just tell it and then get on with the story? So, I wrote it all down, a synopsis of an 84,000 word novel in three pages or less. Not the smartest thing in the world, but I didn’t know what else to do. They have to know the backstory, don’t they? Or nothing will make any sense, right?
So, the next step was running it by some astute readers. They all said the same thing – there’s too much. Cut it down and pepper it throughout the story. I also ran it past a Goodreads friend who loved The Frenchman, so was game to review the sequel. She said there was too much. So, I started reading about backstory. And you know what? It’s not that important that the reader have all the detail that occurred in the first book, as long as they are not confused. A bit of mystery is a really good thing. After all, if they read all the backstory detail in the sequel, why would they go back and read the first book?
My problem has been lessened, but I will still need help. I need readers who have not read The Frenchman to read the sequel (still untitled) and let me know if it’s confusing without all the first book detail. Feel free to contact me at bbboudreau@ymail.com. Thanks!

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