You know, I used to secretly criticize people in my head when they didn't continuously update their blogs. I always thought they were such slackers. Then I became one of them.
The truth is that life happens. So, this is my attempt to get back to updating more regularly.
The reason I've been MIA is that I just graduated from college, got a job about a week later, and went full speed ahead into preparing. I am teaching high school English, which is super exciting. As soon as I got the job, I started taking education classes, attending seminars, lesson planning, and so on. So it's been super busy on my end. Being a first year teacher is hard work!
BUT that doesn't mean I've neglected writing. I've been a little slower lately, but I'm still writing. I have currently sent completed manuscript #2 to a couple of beta readers. It's still a little short and I've reached the point where someone else's eyes need to see it because mine are no longer helpful. I'm excited for that feedback!
I'm also still working on finishing my current WIP, but because I'm me, I couldn't resist starting a new project. It just seems weird to me to only be writing one thing at a time. So I actually got a pretty good idea for a sequel to completed manuscript #2, so I've started writing that too. Obviously it's still in the early stages, but I'm excited to see where it'll go. I may even get more ideas from the beta feedback.
These two projects are very special to me. The first manuscript I wrote was exactly that: the first. It's rough, full of plot holes, inconsistent, and not my best writing. But it was the first and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Plus the experience I gained from writing it made these other two projects possible. Maybe one day (after a LOT of editing) it'll see publication.
But for now, I'm excited about these two. I can totally see the potential they have. Although my wonderful job has slowed me down a little, I'm still fully dedicated to making one (or both!) of these a reality.
So that's my life update. Keep writing, people. Even if it's hard. Even if you're busy. If you really love it, you'll still love working on it.
More updates to come (I promise).
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Saturday, May 21, 2016
The Mechanics of a Dual Timeline
Wow, so it's been approximately a million years since I added to this blog. Sorry about that! The last five months or so have been a little crazy. First of all, it was my last semester of college, so... yeah. That was busy. Three cheers for graduating though!
Also, I completed my second novel (that deserves several more cheers!). My second novel is very different from my first. Though both are YA, the first was an angsty fantasy while this one is a romantic coming-of-age. The two protagonists from these two novels couldn't have been more different (see my earlier post "Pushy Protagonists" for more on that), but they are both very near and dear to my heart. I'm very excited about this newest project. I'm currently in the process of editing and seeking out beta readers... more on that to come!
OKAY. Now that the update is out of the way, let's actually get to the matter at hand (aka the title of this post). Because I am determined to never take a break, I also have a third WIP (work in progress, for those new to the writing acronym world). I've had this third WIP for a while. I started writing it long ago, but I gave up on it after a couple thousand words because I decided it just wasn't the right story for me (you can read more about this one too in my post "Never Delete Anything and Never Give Up" where the WIP is dubbed manuscript #2. Apparently this is the part of the program where I plug my own blog on my blog). But I went back to it and alternated between that one and the one I just completed. I am now more than halfway through it and I'm feeling really good. It's coming together. I know where I'm going with the story (which is a first for me), and I like how it's turning out.
So here comes the twist: this manuscript features a dual timeline.
Okay, so let's pause right there. For those who don't know, a dual timeline novel is a novel in which the timeline of the story is split into two different segments. Sometimes the two segments meet at some point,and sometimes they are a little more distanced, but they are very interesting to read.
The first dual timeline I ever read was Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver of the Delirium series.
(Okay, I know I talk about Delirium a lot, but for real guys, if you haven't read that series, read it. You won't regret it.)
Pandemonium is the second book of the series. Without giving anything away, I can tell you that Delirium ends with some unanswered questions in the best way. I was eager to know what happened in the rest of the series, so I immediately grabbed Pandemonium, started skimming, and realized I was reading a totally different story.
Except I wasn't.
Oliver chose to divide the book into two timelines, dubbing them "Now" and "Then." The book begins in a "Now" chapter, but what I really wanted to know was what happened "Then"? "Then" picks up right after the end of Delirium, whereas "Now" picks up some time later. The two stories eventually meet in the end.
I tore through the first few chapters of the book and quickly realized I was fully invested in both timelines. As each chapter ended, I was sad to have to wait to see what happened in one timeline, but was eager to get back to the other. It was fascinating. I have since read several dual timeline novels and I love them. They are really cool to read.
That's actually how I broke writer's block on this current WIP. I realized that traditional storytelling format didn't fit this story (pretty typical of the protagonist, if you ask me. He's a little bit of a nonconformist troublemaker). So I switched the formatting to a dual timeline and ohmygoodness it is sooo much better. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite formats and I'm definitely planning on using it in the future.
But I've discovered some inherent difficulties that come with trying to write in this format that I hadn't expected. Here's what I learned about writing a dual timeline:
1. Keeping little details straight is SO much harder.
This particular story is a magical realism (with a little bit of dystopian type stuff thrown in) so it's a little complicated. Trying to keep the dynamics of a story with fantastical elements straight is already hard enough. Trying to keep them straight when you're writing in two different timelines? SO hard!
Even trying to keep little things straight like which scene came before which becomes much harder. I constantly have to go back and check what happened when. It's not a huge roadblock, but be aware of it if you choose to write a dual timeline.
2. You can still write a dual timeline chronologically.
I don't usually write in chronological order, so I wasn't concerned with the fact that this chronology was going to be totally crazy. However, writing a dual timeline as the reader would read it is kind of impossible. If that's how Lauren Oliver and others did it, then I have crazy levels of respect for them. I can't do it.
Here's what I did. I use Scrivener, which is a software program designed for writers. It is literally the best (side note: I am not getting paid to say this. I just love Scrivener that much). Scrivener lets you split your novel into individual chapters and scenes. When I first started writing, I tried to alternate between Now and Then but it got super confusing. So what I did was create two chapter folders in Scrivener. One is titled "THEN" and the other is titled "NOW." See where I'm going with this? I have two master lists of scenes, one for each timeline. When the novel is complete, I will splice them together the way I want them, adjusting as necessary. But having them split like this makes it so much easier for now. Basically, the story is in chronological order right now. I still write out of order, but when I scroll through the scenes, they are in order. It makes keeping things straight a whole lot easier.
3. Trying a new technique makes you feel so awesome.
I like to think I'm a fairly good writer, but nothing makes you feel like a legit writer like trying something new and liking it. Writing in a format I'd never tried before was a very daunting undertaking (and still is at times), but when a scene comes out really well, or you make the perfect connection between the two timelines, it feels really good. I know I'm far from knowing everything about writing, but successfully writing a dual timeline kind of feels like mastering it. I am currently doing it successfully, so surely I can do it again. Or try something else and master that. It's fun.
It also breaks up the monotony. I love writing, but the first two manuscripts were similar in a lot of ways. Both YA, both first person, both young, female protagonists, both traditional storytelling, and so on. But this one is different. Not only is this one different because even though it's YA, the protagonist is a teenage guy (which is a topic for a whole other blog post... help me...), but it is super different because the storytelling is totally different. It distinguishes it from my other works in a really cool way.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that venturing out of your writing comfort zone is fun.
I've really enjoyed writing this WIP and I'm still enjoying it. I'm very excited to see how it turns out. In the future, I'll definitely be up for more dual timelines and for trying new things. I have always wanted to do a dual perspective..... hmm.....
KMG
Also, I completed my second novel (that deserves several more cheers!). My second novel is very different from my first. Though both are YA, the first was an angsty fantasy while this one is a romantic coming-of-age. The two protagonists from these two novels couldn't have been more different (see my earlier post "Pushy Protagonists" for more on that), but they are both very near and dear to my heart. I'm very excited about this newest project. I'm currently in the process of editing and seeking out beta readers... more on that to come!
OKAY. Now that the update is out of the way, let's actually get to the matter at hand (aka the title of this post). Because I am determined to never take a break, I also have a third WIP (work in progress, for those new to the writing acronym world). I've had this third WIP for a while. I started writing it long ago, but I gave up on it after a couple thousand words because I decided it just wasn't the right story for me (you can read more about this one too in my post "Never Delete Anything and Never Give Up" where the WIP is dubbed manuscript #2. Apparently this is the part of the program where I plug my own blog on my blog). But I went back to it and alternated between that one and the one I just completed. I am now more than halfway through it and I'm feeling really good. It's coming together. I know where I'm going with the story (which is a first for me), and I like how it's turning out.
So here comes the twist: this manuscript features a dual timeline.
Okay, so let's pause right there. For those who don't know, a dual timeline novel is a novel in which the timeline of the story is split into two different segments. Sometimes the two segments meet at some point,and sometimes they are a little more distanced, but they are very interesting to read.
The first dual timeline I ever read was Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver of the Delirium series.
(Okay, I know I talk about Delirium a lot, but for real guys, if you haven't read that series, read it. You won't regret it.)
Pandemonium is the second book of the series. Without giving anything away, I can tell you that Delirium ends with some unanswered questions in the best way. I was eager to know what happened in the rest of the series, so I immediately grabbed Pandemonium, started skimming, and realized I was reading a totally different story.
Except I wasn't.
Oliver chose to divide the book into two timelines, dubbing them "Now" and "Then." The book begins in a "Now" chapter, but what I really wanted to know was what happened "Then"? "Then" picks up right after the end of Delirium, whereas "Now" picks up some time later. The two stories eventually meet in the end.
I tore through the first few chapters of the book and quickly realized I was fully invested in both timelines. As each chapter ended, I was sad to have to wait to see what happened in one timeline, but was eager to get back to the other. It was fascinating. I have since read several dual timeline novels and I love them. They are really cool to read.
That's actually how I broke writer's block on this current WIP. I realized that traditional storytelling format didn't fit this story (pretty typical of the protagonist, if you ask me. He's a little bit of a nonconformist troublemaker). So I switched the formatting to a dual timeline and ohmygoodness it is sooo much better. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite formats and I'm definitely planning on using it in the future.
But I've discovered some inherent difficulties that come with trying to write in this format that I hadn't expected. Here's what I learned about writing a dual timeline:
1. Keeping little details straight is SO much harder.
This particular story is a magical realism (with a little bit of dystopian type stuff thrown in) so it's a little complicated. Trying to keep the dynamics of a story with fantastical elements straight is already hard enough. Trying to keep them straight when you're writing in two different timelines? SO hard!
Even trying to keep little things straight like which scene came before which becomes much harder. I constantly have to go back and check what happened when. It's not a huge roadblock, but be aware of it if you choose to write a dual timeline.
2. You can still write a dual timeline chronologically.
I don't usually write in chronological order, so I wasn't concerned with the fact that this chronology was going to be totally crazy. However, writing a dual timeline as the reader would read it is kind of impossible. If that's how Lauren Oliver and others did it, then I have crazy levels of respect for them. I can't do it.
Here's what I did. I use Scrivener, which is a software program designed for writers. It is literally the best (side note: I am not getting paid to say this. I just love Scrivener that much). Scrivener lets you split your novel into individual chapters and scenes. When I first started writing, I tried to alternate between Now and Then but it got super confusing. So what I did was create two chapter folders in Scrivener. One is titled "THEN" and the other is titled "NOW." See where I'm going with this? I have two master lists of scenes, one for each timeline. When the novel is complete, I will splice them together the way I want them, adjusting as necessary. But having them split like this makes it so much easier for now. Basically, the story is in chronological order right now. I still write out of order, but when I scroll through the scenes, they are in order. It makes keeping things straight a whole lot easier.
3. Trying a new technique makes you feel so awesome.
I like to think I'm a fairly good writer, but nothing makes you feel like a legit writer like trying something new and liking it. Writing in a format I'd never tried before was a very daunting undertaking (and still is at times), but when a scene comes out really well, or you make the perfect connection between the two timelines, it feels really good. I know I'm far from knowing everything about writing, but successfully writing a dual timeline kind of feels like mastering it. I am currently doing it successfully, so surely I can do it again. Or try something else and master that. It's fun.
It also breaks up the monotony. I love writing, but the first two manuscripts were similar in a lot of ways. Both YA, both first person, both young, female protagonists, both traditional storytelling, and so on. But this one is different. Not only is this one different because even though it's YA, the protagonist is a teenage guy (which is a topic for a whole other blog post... help me...), but it is super different because the storytelling is totally different. It distinguishes it from my other works in a really cool way.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that venturing out of your writing comfort zone is fun.
I've really enjoyed writing this WIP and I'm still enjoying it. I'm very excited to see how it turns out. In the future, I'll definitely be up for more dual timelines and for trying new things. I have always wanted to do a dual perspective..... hmm.....
KMG
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