Layout problem - making sure that two storylines/timelines don't confuse the reader.

JumpingJack · Apr 11, 2007

Ok, I've got this problem merging my two storylines, not from a story point of view, just for readability.

Half of the novel is told from the point of view of someone who is long dead, recorded on cassette tapes that the main characters from the present listen too, unfolding the story that happened in the past, which led to the events that are currently plagueing them.

What im having diffculty with is how i can make the switch between the two effectively.

I presumed that if the book was printed, a different font would be used, or other fancy layout ideas that made it clear, but in standard manuscript format i dont have any of this. I wouldn't italicise the whole lot, because we're talking about 150 pages (out of a 350 page manuscript) of it all together, split up into different tapes that the characters listen too, and pages of italicsed text would read horribly (i tried it)

I'd prefer of course to figure out some clever way of making it read clearly without the need for layout changes, but so far i've come up with no obvious way.

So thats my dilema.

Any ideas?

Garpy · Apr 11, 2007

Well first off, what's the problem with you putting it into a different font? It doesn't have to vary hugely to be instantly detectable.

Assuming a different font is not the answer, I suppose you could always begin a tape section in italic then slide into regular eg:

I was young when I decided that Lorretta was not going to be the girl for me...

...she had one leg shorter than the other, and none of her own teeth. But then she played an incredibly good game of Bridge and spoke Farsi fluently. She intoxicated me with her tales of life on Mars and battling through the seven layers of Hell, fighting Satan himself and all his little imps...

...and so I think I learned my lesson not to trust one person with so much of my heart.

JumpingJack · Apr 11, 2007

Garpy said:
Well first off, what's the problem with you putting it into a different font? It doesn't have to vary hugely to be instantly detectable.

Because standard manuscript submission is courier font size 12, and i'm new enough to all this to figure that my best chances aren't by breaking the common rules. In published print i would think it would work fine. I should have mentioned that this was really only for the submisison manuscript.

I like the starting italics idea though, i may try that and see how it reads.

Cheers!

Maryn · Apr 11, 2007

I'm one of the many who will not read more than a few pages in italic. 150 page of a non-traditional font is a deal-breaker for many readers.

Garpy's idea will work, but it sounds as if you're rejecting it.

Another obvious, easy solution is to divide the ms. into Book One, Book Two, etc. (or Part One and Part Two, or January 10, 1853 and March 14, 2009, or any other method of dividing and labeling same-type divisions), giving each new tape a dedicated section. For long or sequential tapes, there can be chapters within each Book/Part/Date.

I'd insert a blank sheet with the section label centered on it left to right and about 1/3 of the way down the page, for the start of each section.

If a publisher accepts your novel, your editor may have other ideas about this, but for submission purposes, you should be okay.

Maryn, hoping this helps

ccarver30 · Apr 11, 2007

I'm not sure my response will make sense, but I am going to try.
If it really is- first 100 pages = dead guy and 2nd 150 pages = present day people, I think the transition would be obvious. In the second half, I picture the first sentence starting off as, "They couldn't believe what had been revealed in the tapes. It explained everything that had been plagueing them."
I dunno.
*hides under bed*

Novelhistorian · Apr 11, 2007

I'd be wary of a story that depended on typography to switch narrators. I agree with ccarver that the writing itself should make the switch apparent. Are there any books you admire that depend on a multiple-character perspective? Maybe you had one in mind as a model before you wrote yours. See what the author does to clue the reader in.

I've marked many manuscripts for type, and I never recall any that used a different font for different chapters. That doesn't mean it isn't done, but I'd let your prose stand and stay away from gimmicks.

maestrowork · Apr 11, 2007

My feeling that if you can't distinguish the two characters, two povs, and two voices in your writing without using "different fonts" you have a problem far beyond just formatting.

That said...

Why not just put up a heading?

Dead Guy:
I am dead. Really dead.

***

Present day hero:
I was listening to this tape and I got confused.

The Scip · Apr 11, 2007

Why couldn't the tape sections be in thier own chapters that way if you wanted to you could start witht he chapter headings "Tape 1" and then som fictional time starting point then in the present day chapters you could put the date that way thereader would know right away if it was from the tape or from present day.

sfecphory · Apr 11, 2007

This is how I would handle it too. Make sure that your narrator presents who and when they are, and have the book broken into Part 1 and part 2.

maestrowork said:
My feeling that if you can't distinguish the two characters, two povs, and two voices in your writing without using "different fonts" you have a problem far beyond just formatting.

That said...

Why not just put up a heading?

Dead Guy:
I am dead. Really dead.

***

Present day hero:
I was listening to this tape and I got confused.

herdon · Apr 11, 2007

I agree that formatting is probably not the right route to go down. It's tough to say without knowing exactly what you are doing and how you are presenting the tapes, but if it really is the first 100 pages of complete or almost complete tapes then you shouldn't need to do anything with formatting.

I've used italics to (fictional) book excerpts in one novel. There are book excerpts that appear in a chapter as a small passage and other book excerpts that take up an entire (short) chapter and the italics worked great for that, but I would definately be wary of using something like that for such a huge chunk of the manuscript.

Doug Johnson · Apr 11, 2007

The Scip said:
Why couldn't the tape sections be in thier own chapters

I think that's a good idea.

freshpencils · Apr 12, 2007

Try breaking the "present" content and the "taped" content into different chapters. As someone else here suggested, call the "taped" chapters "Tape I," "Tape II," etc.

I just read "The Historian" and found it very confusing. I had a hard time distinguishing between the father's reminisces and the present time. I honestly don't remember - the author may have used chapter breaks - but they didn't do the trick for me. (I do know that the chapters weren't named; like "The First Story," "The Second Story," etc.

freshpencils

James D. Macdonald · Apr 12, 2007

Set the parts apart with a line break.

Start the cassette parts with an identification: "Tape 34, side B, 12/22/72."

Then just write. Your betas will tell you if they're confused.

Layout problem - making sure that two storylines/timelines don't confuse the reader.

JumpingJack

Garpy

keyboard monkey

JumpingJack

Maryn

I Tried

ccarver30

Nicole Castro

Novelhistorian

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

The Scip

...walks this way.

sfecphory

herdon

What's up?

Doug Johnson

freshpencils

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle