Good Morning All,
The project I am working on is a fantasy, but the way I am framing it is proving a little awkward at the moment.
In a nutshell, the way I am telling this story is as though a modern day historian (Emily Bestau) is researching a character known in modern culture as "Jack Bastard" - a character that is sort of like Robin Hood or King Arthur, where it is largely unknown if there is any real basis for their existence in reality, and to what extent. Emily digs deep into the mythos and is rewarded by an amazing discovery; she has made contact with an elf (Sarave) who was alive at that time and knew the character (actual name: John Bowen) intimately. Conveniently, being an elf, she has what we consider hyperthymesia and has herself accumulated a lot of primary resources from the era. So, Emily pops over to visit her and undertakes a (long) series of interviews with her, which forms the basis of a series of books that serves to debunk certain myths about Jack Bastard/John Bown, explores some of the causes for why some myths have been created surrounding him, and provides a huge insight on what events in history occurred during his time alive and what place he took in them.
So, my problem:
I have a large backstory for Emily, regarding her upbringing that aren't exactly pivotal, but better show and validate why she took such an interest in the Jack Bastard legends, and I know the series of events that took her from a curious researcher to being able to have an audience with Sarave. These sections will be told in the first-person.
Then there are the sections that placed as a transcript, in interviewer and interviewee.
And of course, the meat of the story, that occurs in the world of John Bowen, told in the third-person.
My first approach was to have Emily's story told as part of a Foreward, but as non-protagonists tend to do, she started leaping off the page, doing and saying all sorts of interesting things and it would have been a crime to resign her to just the opening paragraphs to my (and hers, now) book and only to be heard from again every so often.
I worry that if I tell to much, I tell too little. The modern-day aspects intrigue me greatly and serves to contrast how much (or little) things were different in the older days. I fear confusing the heck out of my readers if I am bouncing all over the place with points of view and timelines.
So it's a bit of a juggling act, and any ideas, suggestions or recommendations to help me along would be greatly appreciated.
The project I am working on is a fantasy, but the way I am framing it is proving a little awkward at the moment.
In a nutshell, the way I am telling this story is as though a modern day historian (Emily Bestau) is researching a character known in modern culture as "Jack Bastard" - a character that is sort of like Robin Hood or King Arthur, where it is largely unknown if there is any real basis for their existence in reality, and to what extent. Emily digs deep into the mythos and is rewarded by an amazing discovery; she has made contact with an elf (Sarave) who was alive at that time and knew the character (actual name: John Bowen) intimately. Conveniently, being an elf, she has what we consider hyperthymesia and has herself accumulated a lot of primary resources from the era. So, Emily pops over to visit her and undertakes a (long) series of interviews with her, which forms the basis of a series of books that serves to debunk certain myths about Jack Bastard/John Bown, explores some of the causes for why some myths have been created surrounding him, and provides a huge insight on what events in history occurred during his time alive and what place he took in them.
So, my problem:
I have a large backstory for Emily, regarding her upbringing that aren't exactly pivotal, but better show and validate why she took such an interest in the Jack Bastard legends, and I know the series of events that took her from a curious researcher to being able to have an audience with Sarave. These sections will be told in the first-person.
Then there are the sections that placed as a transcript, in interviewer and interviewee.
And of course, the meat of the story, that occurs in the world of John Bowen, told in the third-person.
My first approach was to have Emily's story told as part of a Foreward, but as non-protagonists tend to do, she started leaping off the page, doing and saying all sorts of interesting things and it would have been a crime to resign her to just the opening paragraphs to my (and hers, now) book and only to be heard from again every so often.
I worry that if I tell to much, I tell too little. The modern-day aspects intrigue me greatly and serves to contrast how much (or little) things were different in the older days. I fear confusing the heck out of my readers if I am bouncing all over the place with points of view and timelines.
So it's a bit of a juggling act, and any ideas, suggestions or recommendations to help me along would be greatly appreciated.
