Another fantastic post from Story Empire!
Hi, SEers! Happy first day of Spring! You’re with Mae today.
For my next few posts, I’d like to talk about dual timeline novels. I’m sure most of you are familiar with them. Some of you, have likely even written a dual timeline book. Story Empire’s own Joan Hall wrote a post about using timelines, which you can find HERE.
When I look back to my earliest published works, most drew on history. One used the American Civil War, another maritime superstitions and history. I suppose it was only natural I would advance from touching on history to doing in-depth research for a series that relied heavily on historical fact and folklore. I quickly became hooked and started each book of my Point Pleasant series by writing a chapter set entirely in the past—something I had never done before.
History always intrigued me but…
View original post 345 more words
The Indie Spot! 
Thanks for reblogging, Beem!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Always my pleasure, Mae.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoy dual timeline sometimes, but they are tricky. The stories have to be of balanced importance, and they have to be inticately entwined so the reader gets the sense that one story could not be adequately told without the other(s). I do think, too, that the market has been kind of flooded with dual timelines over the last few years, and judging by review trends and social media conversations, it seems to me that readers are cooling on them a little and becoming generally more critical of them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve made some insightful points, Sarah. I agree techniques can be overused. However, I think if the story is well-written and carefully plotted, the technique will be appreciated. It’s like all the vampire stories written over the years. We reached saturation point long before silly stuff like Twilight hit. But, even now, a new vampire story shows up that is original and dark, and we’re all interested again. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
LikeLiked by 1 person