I so agree! That's kind of what I ended up thinking: an arbitrary page number isn't the way to go when thinking about story structure. But my real problem with this particular revise and resubmit is that (in my not-so-humble opinion), this editor is wrong about what the actual story is. I start in medias res, and revisit the opening scene a little past the half-way point in the book. That's an absolutely classic story structure, and I think it works. But--
In this editor's opinion, that's when the story starts, and I need to move this second view of the scene to the 20 percent mark. Yes, he had an exact page number!
It seems this idea comes from a book called Saving the Cat, which I've heard of but haven't yet read. It seems to be enormously influential in TV and film writing and in genre fiction.
I do agree my plot points have to happen faster, and that's what I'm struggling with. Mine is a relatively slow, inward story. But the bigger problem is what the story actually is, and therefore what the plot points are. That the editor did not understand this is a problem I must also solve. Two of my readers gave me a way forward, and I am so happy with the revisions they encouraged. Even so, I do feel this story probably won't work for this particular editor. No fault to him or to me! No one story works for everyone.
Speaking of which--I do appreciate your comment! In some ways, we're talking in a vacuum, since you haven't read the book. Would you like me to shoot you the revised first chapter? If so, how shall I get it to you safely?
Pages, etc--
In this editor's opinion, that's when the story starts, and I need to move this second view of the scene to the 20 percent mark. Yes, he had an exact page number!
It seems this idea comes from a book called Saving the Cat, which I've heard of but haven't yet read. It seems to be enormously influential in TV and film writing and in genre fiction.
I do agree my plot points have to happen faster, and that's what I'm struggling with. Mine is a relatively slow, inward story. But the bigger problem is what the story actually is, and therefore what the plot points are. That the editor did not understand this is a problem I must also solve. Two of my readers gave me a way forward, and I am so happy with the revisions they encouraged. Even so, I do feel this story probably won't work for this particular editor. No fault to him or to me! No one story works for everyone.
Speaking of which--I do appreciate your comment! In some ways, we're talking in a vacuum, since you haven't read the book. Would you like me to shoot you the revised first chapter? If so, how shall I get it to you safely?