snippets of dialogue to appear later on

cuteshoes · May 1, 2006

The way I have my manuscript set up right now, in the first chapter the main character ponders certain events that happened in her past and gives teasers of dialogue that occurred in order to raise questions. Then the novel begins to tell the story leading up to the present so the actual full-conversations are revealed later on and the questions are answered as the complete story is revealed.

Is this an okay format? I am essentially duplicating a few lines in the novel. I tried to cut out the first chapter entirely and make the story completely linear but it doesn't work at all with the ending, which i'm not changing.

jules · May 2, 2006

Sounds interesting. I personally dislike books with starts like this if they give away too much plot (Michael Crichton's Prey seriously annoyed me in this respect), but that's just a personal dislike. Certainly there are many well-received books that start with a character at or close to the end of the story then jump back to tell the rest.

Mac H. · May 2, 2006

...in the first chapter the main character ponders certain events that happened in her past and gives teasers of dialogue that occurred in order to raise questions.

Click to expand...

Disclaimer: This is my opinion as a reader, not as a writer ...

I'd be fine if the main character pondered certain events that happened in the past, and gave snippets of dialogue FOR A REASON.

If the main character appears to be doing it JUST to raise questions in my mind, then I find it intrusive. After all, the main character doesn't even know there is a reader - it's kind of like a character winking at the camera.

Good luck,

Mac.

cuteshoes · May 2, 2006

It's necessary because in the end you find out she has been telling the story to someone and most of what happened was a figment of her imagination.

snippets of dialogue to appear later on

cuteshoes

jules

Bored fanatic

Mac H.

Board Visitor

cuteshoes