Hi,
My novel has alternating point of view by chapter. The protagonists don't meet until act II.
Their storylines revolve around the same issues--but different secondary characters and settings throughout their act I plot lines.
I'm thinking of condensing the act I of one protagonist into 'part I' (first ~5 chapters), the act I of the other protagonist into part II (~five chapters), and then alternating the chapters for the rest of the story. Since they don't meet or overlap in act I, I think it can 'work' structurally.
I've seen this approach used, and enjoy both types of structures in novels.
My reasons lie along the lines of streamlining the reading experience. It also seems like I could tailor my querying a bit by shuffling protagonists like this. I doubt this sort of change would be the make-or-break factor, but it could have some small impact on the reading experience.
My question is whether you have any thoughts about this sort of structure. Five chapters with one protagonist, five with another, and then alternating thereafter through acts II and III. Good, bad, indifferent?
My novel has alternating point of view by chapter. The protagonists don't meet until act II.
Their storylines revolve around the same issues--but different secondary characters and settings throughout their act I plot lines.
I'm thinking of condensing the act I of one protagonist into 'part I' (first ~5 chapters), the act I of the other protagonist into part II (~five chapters), and then alternating the chapters for the rest of the story. Since they don't meet or overlap in act I, I think it can 'work' structurally.
I've seen this approach used, and enjoy both types of structures in novels.
My reasons lie along the lines of streamlining the reading experience. It also seems like I could tailor my querying a bit by shuffling protagonists like this. I doubt this sort of change would be the make-or-break factor, but it could have some small impact on the reading experience.
My question is whether you have any thoughts about this sort of structure. Five chapters with one protagonist, five with another, and then alternating thereafter through acts II and III. Good, bad, indifferent?
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