😳 Is That How My Life Could Have Turned Out? Writing About Characters Who See Alternate Realities

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if… You had turned down that job, stayed with that love interest, gone travelling instead of going to university, or taken a different life path?

Would you love to glimpse at what I refer to as the road not taken?

I am reflecting on the crossroads in my life and the roads I didn’t take;

What would have happened if, at seventeen, I had stayed with the handsome lifeguard who was great to look at but didn’t talk much? When he did talk (not that often) it was one maybe two word type answers. I couldn’t cope with the lengthy silences…

What would have happened if I had not gone to university and remained a till girl in the teenage clothing department of C&A?

What would have happened if I had self published my first ever novel – a space romcom which defied the laws of science but was like – Bridget Jones in space – and I had become famous because of it? Plus the famous scene where they are doing saucy things whilst passing by the rings of Saturn would be like a legendary film clip.

My mind is boggling.

There are lots of good examples of alternate reality stories. In one of my favourite books, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, Nora steps into a library filled with books representing different versions of her life. She gets to glimpse at the roads she didn’t take in life. In the film Sliding Doors, Gwyneth Paltrow’s character misses or catches a train, leading to two different life outcomes.

I love how small moments can have a profound impact on your life; the text message you didn’t send, the bus or train you missed, the party invite you declined or the notebook you didn’t buy – the one which you would have taken to a writer conference and as you proudly waved it about you would have caught the eye of someone significant (my notebook addiction coming through here – sorry).

Can you imagine being able to see what would have happened if you had got on the bus or gone to the party?

Why do we love these types of stories? I suppose they tap into deeper emotions, such as regret and curiosity, and they make us ask whether there is such a thing as destiny? Or is everything down to chance?

Here are some things to consider when writing stories where the character gets to see an alternate reality:

What lesson is the alternate reality TEACHING your character? It’s not about how things could have been; it is about what the character needed to LEARN. Think about why your story needs alternate realities. It is a tool and it must be used to explore a character’s inner journey. It’s not just a gimmick.Think about what your character will think by the end? How has it changed them? Don’t go alternate reality crazy. Limit the number.

I will now go away and see if I can glimpse my alternate reality where I am a famous author of a space romcom which disregards minor things such as gravity, speed and time, has a legion of adoring fans who stop me in supermarkets to talk about that scene which took place as the spaceship flew past the rings of Saturn…