1. peachalulu

    peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

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    Multi-strand narrative? as a technique

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by peachalulu, Nov 6, 2012.

    Anyone try this technique?
    Love this technique?
    Hate this technique?
    I was reading Stand on Zanzibar which uses this and found it interesting and
    it might be the angle my book needs. But it also looks difficult and scattered.

    Any tips on how to use this technique?
     
  2. joanna

    joanna Active Member

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    I love it for practice, but my manuscripts inevitably get narrowed down to a single perspective.

    I wrote my second ms from the perspectives of five of the characters, so I really got to know each one of them and had practice writing in different voices, something I had trouble with in the past. I based my next ms on the single character who stood out, and by then I had a better feel for the intricacies of the plot as well as each characters' personality.

    I think most books stick to three perspectives at most. I like ones that alternate chapters using two perspectives.

    My advice would be to read books that use the technique well. I just finished The Help by Katherine Stockett, which did it beautifully; each character really came to life, and the author was great at leaving you hanging at the end of the chapter wanting to know what happened to that person next, forcing you to keep reading.
     
  3. Thumpalumpacus

    Thumpalumpacus Alive in the Superunknown

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    I think I'm going to give it a shot in the next work.
     

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