The Taylor Stevens Show

You have a mostly chronological story, but the opening chapters are not the strongest or most interesting, but they are important, in which case a single chapter, or a couple of chapters in the beginning that are out of chronology and then moving on from there might be the best solution.

—- Taylor

Thanks to Scott for providing the question for this week’s show:

How do you manage non-sequential chronology? I’m wrapping up the second draft of my second novel, and I’m thinking that the strongest opening scene may not be the first chronological scene, yet the earlier scenes are not just exposition. They really do serve an important story purpose.

It’s a tricky problem, I realize, and it can smack of gimmickry if mishandled. I’d be interested in learning whether you’ve written in non-sequential form, and if so, what criteria you used to choose that structure, and also, how you handled the transitions.
If you’ve read Taylor’s books, you know that she opened THE MASK in much the way Scott describes. She walks us through that as an example, and we get into other chronology related topics.

If you’ve read Taylor’s books, you know that she opened THE MASK in much the way Scott describes.  She walks us through that as an example and we get into other chronology related topics.

 

Thanks so much for joining us again this week!

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The post TSS090: How to Manage Non-Sequential Chronology in your Stories appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.