I have been trying to work on my novel since April of this year. It has gone from the original story that I began to create, to a story which takes place generations before the original concept. I am not sure where to begin! Should I keep the second story to help the original grow in my own head, or should I begin with the second idea and continue until I catch up to myself? As a reader what opinions do you have about this? To be more specific, I am only displaced by three generations. The second concept I have for this whole story would begin with the creation of my species of creature, which from then on, would become the main creatures in my novel. I am writing in the fantasy/fiction genre. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Typically I would suggest to work chronologically. This would make it easier to follow. There is of course the option of starting at the later date and using a series of flashbacks to tell the past story. This way, the reader is told the past story in small parts rather than all at once. This would be a good way to build a little suspense.
I had thought of that, and that was part of the original idea, however it was thought by some this would make my story too confusing for the reader. Thus the second idea was born to take the story back to the beginning. I have thought that this would make for a long journey to get to the place where I wanted to begin the story, I wonder If I could sum it all up into a chapter or a book all in itself and leave out points which would have lead them to the conclusion too soon?
I wouldn't suggest trying to sum it all up in a chapter. You don't want it to feel rushed. If there is enough content to make it a books on it's own, that would be a good option. Otherwise, I think cutting back to the past periodically would be one of your better choices. I don't believe this would make it confusing. If you're careful on how you segue into the past scenes, it can even feel very natural switching back and forth between them.
Flashbacks are a good idea, but be careful with their placing in the story, as flashbacks bring the pacing of the story to a screeching halt. Like Klogg said, too many or too much all at once will back up your story, but in small bursts is alright. A good format might mirror Ender's Game. At the beginning of each chapter, in italics, is a scene that either happened before or is happening at the same time as the main plot, but would seem out of place anywhere else. Since it occurs very briefly before each chapter, it actually builds a rhythm out of its uniformity. Something similar may work if you have a lot of backstory to go through. Either that, or build a series out of your story. But that's a whole other set of questions to ask yourself.
