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Using flashbacks
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Hi Nikki, I have read novels like that, and yes, they can come across as rather disjointed. The only two I can think of off the top of my head are Gone Girl and A Man Called Outlaw, by KM Weiland. Both are quite good, though I admit that I preferred the linearity of the movie Gone Girl compared to the book. Hope this helps.
Robert
This back-and-forth narrative definitely won't suit everyone so it's always a risk.What I'd ask (or, have you ask yourself) is: is it necessary for these two storylines (past and present) to be woven like that? Can you just tell the past first and then go to the present? Try to look at the story from several directions and think what could be doable and what could not - then decide whether to stick with the original approach or change it.
I suggest focusing on what you feel is the most natural way to tell the story, then let the reader decide. For me, to tell such a story linearly almost means the opening has to be boring (no zombies), so opening in the future where all the action is, then slipping back to the past after the reader is hooked, is probably the only practical way to do it. Unless you want the historical reveals to be minor and via dialog, which I've also seen done.An alternative I've seen work several times, if you're trying to get general historical information to the reader, is to have chapter headers. Text set off with different margins, font and/or with italics that tell the backstory. That way the readers that are interested can get it, while those that prefer to discover as they go can skip it. Not exactly sure if that helps your situation or not (leaning toward not), but wanted to toss it out there.
I forgot Gone Girl was told in that style of narration...I thought what the author did worked pretty well, telling the "past" first and then jumping to the present and the big reveal. I've debated long and hard on whether or not both plotlines are necessary....I like the past parts because it sets up their relationship, what each individually has been through, their family situations that made them who they are, and then why (when they stumble into each other in the present) there's so much hostility between them.
The way I originally wrote it was starting off in the present, then every few chapters slipping back into the past. Past chapters were marked by a header and written in italics to differentiate. But I don't know if that worked or not.
Maybe I'll focus on the present day story, and see if I can just weed in or drop bread crumbs of their past history. I know the whole zombie, dystopia thing is overdone at this point in 2019 but whatever haha.
Write what you enjoy, worry about everything else later. Great writing is in the rewriting. If you can't finish, you can't begin the most important part.
I'll add my bit, flashbacks are fine, even switching characters POV or switching sub-plots are all fine provided they are clearly defined. I am reading The Beach and the dream sequences are done in seperate chapters. New clear paragraphs, new chapter or whatever - just dont keep the reader guessing what time sequence they are inDavid
Fiction/ family/ short story/ 2 pages/ 288 words/ Mother's Day Tea/ It was that time of year again. The most popular- welll- next to Christmas. It is a day that is more celebrated. I love it!Lou Kamradt
Nikki wrote: "Not sure where else to put this, so here goes!I'm reworking a manuscript I wrote many eons ago, that I absolutely loved. Pushed it aside for a number of reasons, but recently dusted it off and de..."
My friend reads YA and has told me of several books with this kind of back and forth, though I don't know the titles. I feel horrible that I'm not more help other than saying, yes, they are out there! Also, think of the Time Traveler's Wife which is all over the place.
This is a fairly common technique used in historical fiction. "The Gown" by Jennifer Robson is one I read relatively recently that had two timelines, one present, one set in the late forties. "On a Cold Dark Sea," which is about the sinking of the Titanic, has scenes set on the ship, and scenes set twenty years in the future involving the same characters.
One of my favorite books was Ghostboat. It was about a WWII submarine that mysteriously vanished in an electrical storm during that war, leaving only one survivor who was washed overboard. Then in the middle 70's (when the novel was published), the sub mysteriously reappeared with fresh bread, food, and plenty of power, but no crew. A mission was sent to retrace the sub's course to try to solve the mystery, and the protagonist assigned to lead the mission convinced the only survivor from 30 years ago to go with them as an adviser. The book began with the sub in WWII going into the violent storm with the chapter ending with the sub's disappearance. The next chapter cut forward to the present day (1974, I think). Then the flashbacks were via the memories and diary of that survivor. As the story progressed we learn more and more about that fateful mission through the flashbacks, and to that survivor's horror, the new modern day crew was taking on the mannerisms and personalities of the original crew. It was as if the past and the present were parallel to each other and growing closer and closer.
That was just a quick synopsis from my memory of the book. Maybe you could do something similar in yours. Why was the events of those high school flashbacks relevant to your zombie story? Did something happen back then that set the stage for the knowledge and/or course of action they must take to survive their current crisis?
Maybe they don't know it yet, but as the flashbacks continue the reader can realize that in an unrelated situation they had come up with a theory to solve the crisis they're in now. You might have your reader shouting at his book, "The answer is right there! You said it yourself back in 11th grade science class! Why can't you (the present day character) remember it?"
Anyway, that's just an idea for you, or perhaps a catalyst for more ideas. Don't forget the past, for it may help you solve the future.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a 1987 novel by Fannie Flagg that seamlessly weaves the present with the past.
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I'm reworking a manuscript I wrote many eons ago, that I absolutely loved. Pushed it aside for a number of reasons, but recently dusted it off and decided to take another crack at it. Keep in mind, I wrote this about seven years ago, in my early twenties. So it's going to be a little bit about starting over, with just the bones to build off of.
However, my problem lies in how the original story was laid out. It alternated between present day and flashbacks. The plot was basically a romance/zombie apocalypse mesh. The flashbacks told the story of high school sweethearts who had a falling out, and the present day chapters were the two of them meeting again during the end of the world. Eventually, the two story lines came together and you found out why they ended up fighting and pulling apart.
It always felt a little disjointed to me? But also feel like can't have one plot line without the other. Does anyone know of any published novels that have been written this way, so I can check them out? Or does anyone in general have any advice on how to meld together a plot that's told in two different timelines? It'd be super appreciated, thanks!