A Look into the Stylistic Structure of the Grimoire Trilogy

Though I released Lichgates (Grimoire Trilogy #1) in October 2011, I’ve never really talked much about the structure of the trilogy. I figured I’d take a few minutes to explain it a bit.

 

As soon as I started writing the Grimoire Trilogy, I knew I wanted to do something different and push a few literary boundaries. Writing a book—especially your first one—isn’t exactly a cake walk, so you’d think I would just be happy to write a good story and be done with it. Nah. That’s not quite how I roll.

 

The trilogy’s core setup is fairly typical: deep-third POV with two primary narrators. We see the story through their eyes and experience each chapter from only one view.  Time is linear, though I so add some interestingly-conceived flashbacks to explain past events and current character motivations. Important note: these aren’t the only two perspectives to appear, but they are primary. I’m going to post in a few more days with details).

 

Limiting myself to two primary narrators who only got a chapter at a time was actually very limiting. If I could go back, I would insert bits of Braeden’s POV into the “Kara Chapters” and vice versa. I cut out entire scenes (now posted for your viewing pleasure) because the linear timeline restricted my ability to include them.

 

That’s why you’ll see alternating perspectives within some chapters (not all) when you read Treason. This allows me to tell more of each story, to show other interpretations of the action. For instance, there’s a lot that goes on in Lichgates which Kara doesn’t even realize until Treason, but adding Braeden’s perspective in Lichgates could have made this evident back then and prevented some of the minor confusion that appears in some reviews.

 

…Yes, I read reviews and learn from them. It’s amazing to get so much input, and I won’t lie: every 5-star review makes my week! I don’t take every piece of advice, of course, nor do I agree with every review, but that’s a topic for another post.

 

The point is, I learned a lot from Lichgates. I noticed things that could be improved, and I changed them in Treason. I’m sure I’ll learn from Treason to improve Heritage (Grimoire Trilogy #3). It’s all a learning process, and we as writers must always remember to stay flexible.

 

To my published authors: what have you learned about writing from your experience with past novels? If you could go back, what would you change?

 

To my readers: You’re awesome. Oh, I guess you want a question, too. Hmmm…since books teach us, what have you learned from reading lately? Do you notice craft when you read, or do you prefer the story? Characters? Something else entirely?