Writer’s Corner: Writing in Multiples

In December, I finished writing the first draft of The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Seeing Doubles. This book will be the second book in my Time Travel Adventure Series, and I have to say I have been having so much fun writing it. Time travel is cool to write about, because it is pure fiction, so you have a lot of lee-way in your story, although there are still some scientific parameters that should be kept in mind.

In The Rock Star & The Outlaw, my protagonists created some time-loops, which crossed. In The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Seeing Double, they create a few more , intersecting with the time-loops created in the first book. What that means, is there is multiple versions of some characters, and the story is dealing with multiple time lines. While the first book dealt with two alternating P.O.V.s, those of the two protagonists, the second book also deals with multiple P.O.V.s from several different characters.

Multiple character P.O.V.s

This will be the first book I’ve written and published with so many different P.O.V.s. Because I have multiple versions of some characters, I had to differentiate which version’s eyes we were seeing things through. Thus, I ended up with ten different P.O.V.s and I must admit, it was challenging keeping track of which P.O.V. I was in, as well as which time line. My hope is that I did a good enough job with all this to not confuse my readers.

I chose to follow the method used by George R.R. Martin in his epic fantasy series, Game of Thrones. Each chapter has the name of the character whose P.O.V. readers will see the story unfold through. I don’t believe Mr. Martin used anything but the name of the character, but my chapters will also have chapter titles that are, in line with the first book, song titles. And, each chapter has to have a time designated so that readers won’t get confused about what time they are in, as well.

Multiple Time Lines

Writing about time travel, and thinking about time travel, and trying to reason out how things would work if time travel were real, can be enough to give an author a migraine. I admit there were times when I had to set the writing aside because it almost hurt to try and wrap my brain around the implications. But, mostly, it was just fun trying to figure out what would be possible and what wouldn’t.

When I first started writing this second book, I thought the first book was written and done. But by crossing time-lines and changing things in previous time lines, I realized my characters changed what happened in the first book. Each thing they change in the time line from the first book, changes things that happened in that story, and I found that it changed the way the first story comes out. So, I ended up rewriting the first story with an alternate ending.

Multiple Versions of Characters

This was where writing the second book got really confusing. With two Amaryllis and three LeRoys, all running around in different timelines, things get crazy. As mentioned above, each version of the character is designated with a different moniker. The characters from this second story are Amaryllis and LeRoy, while the characters from the first story timeline are “Rock Star” and “Cowboy”, and the very first LeRoy even makes an appearance as “Original LeRoy”. And there are two Moniques, (one designated “Shaman Woman”), although they never cross paths. I even have a duplicate horse, Blaze, who gets aggitated when her other self is in the vicinity.

Each of these characters were the same but different than their duplicates. In the first book, Amaryllis is a rock star, living in the fast lane, an adreneline junkie who gets off on facing danger. That Amaryllis is “Rock Star” in this story and the Amaryllis character is one who was changed by her time travel experiences and the lessons they taught her. But one thing is certain, they are both in love with their own version of LeRoy.

It did get confusing at times, but it was a lot of fun to write. The first chapters had to be rewritten halfway through because I realized that the time jumps I had initially planned wouldn’t work, but the new beginning works much better. I’m bad about editing as I write, but it is a part of my writing process. Writing about time travel, I found it to be necessary, especially when things were changed in the story, so earlier chapters had to be edited or revised to keep the storylines consistant.

Even though I edited as I wrote, I consider the completed manuscript a first draft. Now, it must go through a first and second edit by me and be passed through at least one very thorough beta-reader. The beta-reader for this story has done research and written in the time-travel genre, so I’m expecting her to be tough in her commentary. As you can see, I’ve still got a ways to go before doing the final revisions and publishing, but every step brings me closer.

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About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by The Rock Star & The Outlaw and WordCrafter Press.

A time-traveler oversteps his boundaries in 1887. Things get out of hand quickly, and he is hanged, setting in motion a series of events from which there’s no turning back.

In 1887, LeRoy McAllister is a reluctant outlaw running from a posse with nowhere to go except to the future.

In 2025, Amaryllis Sanchez is a thrill-seeking rock star on the fast track, who killed her dealing boyfriend to save herself. Now, she’s running from the law and his drug stealing flunkies, and nowhere is safe.

LeRoy falls hard for the rock star, thinking he can save her by taking her back with him. But when they arrive in 1887, things turn crazy fast, and soon they’re running from both the outlaws and the posse, in peril once more.

They can’t go back to the future, so it looks like they’re stuck in the past. But either when, they must face forces that would either lock them up or see them dead.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/RockStarOutlaw