Monday 24 June 2019

Writing a Dual Timeline: I Must be Crazy

by Marilyn Forsyth

I love dual timeline and timeslip novels! Barbara Erskine’s Lady of Hay, Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth, Tracy Chevalier’s The Virgin Blue are all on my keeper shelf, and I’ve read dozens more. 

My signed copy of Lady of Hay.

So why not try my hand at writing one, I thought.

Hah! Turns out it wasn’t quite as easy as I thought.

Image courtesy of giphy


I did my due diligence. I analysed a heap of timeslip/dual timeline books to try to figure out what made them work and, utilizing what I’d discovered, and after drafting an outline for the entire novel, I started to write.

Gwenllian’s Ghost (working title) is a tale of two women born nine centuries apart whose lives become interwoven after a ghostly encounter. Thrown into reliving her ancestor’s life through dreams, Hannah seeks an answer to the question: can the love of a lifetime endure beyond time itself?

I’d classify this story as a timeslip. The medieval story takes the form of living dreams that cause my contemporary MC massive problems with her everyday life. The two stories, with two adventurous heroines and their worthy heroes, are interwined through those dreams. 

Inspiration for Gwenllian courtesy of Pinterest




I wrote the complete medieval tale first. It seemed logical to stay in my medieval MC’s head while writing about her amazing and tragic story (Gwenllian is based on a true-life Welsh princess). It also ensured that the voice I used remained true to that period and its characters.










Next I wrote Hannah’s story, taking time and care to make her romance as gripping as Gwenllian’s love story.

Then came the hard part. Somehow I had to meld these two stories together.

Seamlessly.

That’s when I realised what I’d got myself into. You see, in structuring this type of story, the choices made in where to transition from one timeline to the other are crucial to the enjoyment of the reader.






Celeste Ng, whose novel Everything I Never Told You is a fabulous example of a well-written dual timeline, says that at each switch in the timeline there has to be a reason for the shift from past to present. She calls it a ‘handoff’ and it acts as a link between those chapters, grounding the reader in the ‘new’ reality so that she/he doesn’t lose the sense of cohesion so necessary for a successful dual timeline. This ‘handoff’ can be many things: an object e.g a diary, a dream voice echoing in a head, a feeling, a memory, or even a smell.




So, to structure my book for best effect, I went back over both stories to see where they could overlap, where the tension in both peaked (so that it didn’t correspond exactly when I interspersed the chapters), and to come up with a suitable ‘handoff’. It was a challenge but, hopefully, it worked. Time will tell.

That wasn’t the only thing to think about, though. For a reader to become totally immersed in tales from two different worlds, each with their own characters and conflicts, both stories have to be compelling. BUT, having said that, there can only be one main story - the one that ties both stories neatly together in the end.

In Gwenllian’s Ghost that main story belongs to Hannah, my modern MC. However, the medieval story moves along side by side with it, adding tension, conflict and, of course, gut-wrenching emotion to the tale.

Image courtesy of giphy




I love dual timeline and timeslip novels! Their complexity, the mystery of how they’ll tie together in the end, their mix of styles of writing.












If only they weren’t so damned terrifying to write!

So why am I now writing another one? 










Because I’m crazy.








Have you read any really good dual timeline/timeslip novels? I’d love some recommendations!

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14 comments:

  1. Your book sounds great. And I always enjoy reading about how an author was inspired, or what her approach to, or how she worked out the problems that came up....oh, and yes, the problems!

    I'm not an automatice time-shift book buyer but have enjoyed what I did read. And of the list above, The Virgin Blue is on of the first, not only time-shift but the first Tracy Chevalier book I read. I knew she had written The Girl With The Pearl Earring. I've reread TVB and found something a different novel each time. It's so neat hearing someone else talk about it if only in passing.

    I loved/love Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books. I know there's great controversy over them, apparently you either love them or hate them. I read a trilogy by Robin Helm that I loved. You have to buy into Jane Austen Fan Fiction, which I do, and again you either love it or hate it. But I thought she did a great job. The old story as opposed to modern is only 200 years back to Regency England but it's a beautiful story. IHMO

    I shall look forward to this book of yours. The very best of luck. And I hope there will be no more head banging on the desk for you in your future. :/

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    1. Thank you so much for dropping by with all your wonderful suggestions, Michelle! I've been reading the Outlander series since it was first published all those years ago and absolutely LOVE it! (Just ask any of my friends. ;)) I haven't read Robin Helm but will look out for the trilogy to add the pile. Many thanks for your good wishes re. my finished book, but the head banging with the new one continues. Lol.

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  2. Knowing what you went through to make this story amazing and it is amazing. You deserve every success. Can't wait to read the next one.

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    1. Thank you, Cassandra! Love that you're with me on this writing journey of ours. xx

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  3. Gosh, Marilyn, it sounds exhausting! Well done to take on such a challenge and extend yourself that way. I hope it's a great success for you.

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    1. Thanks Alyssa! It WAS a challenge, but it was something I needed to do. I'm just hoping that a publisher will like it. :)

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  4. I was witness to all your angst with Gwenllian's Ghost but what a great story that angst produced! Loved it.

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    1. Hi Enisa! G.G. wouldn't have made it to the end without the encouragement of my CPs. I owe you both a heap! xx

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  5. Hi Marilyn, a time slip novel sounds incredibly challenging to write. My favourite dual timeline novel is Juliet by Anne Fortier.

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  6. Ooh, I haven't read that one! Thanks for the suggestion, Sharon.

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  7. Wow, Marilyn, I have to confess as a reader that I haven't thought a lot about how horribly complicated things get for the writer in a time slip romance! I just read along merrily, completely unconcerned but enjoying the ride! You've made me realise how tricky it can be, though, thankyou. Now I'll read with awe...!!!

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    1. I used to do the same thing, Malvina i.e. read along happily with no thought as to how or why it worked. But analyzing the stories and then sitting down to actually write one taught me such a lot.

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  8. Hi Marilyn, I take my hat off to you! Your book sounds fantastic and well done on taking up such a challenge :) I must admit I haven't any time slip novels to recommend, but I can't wait to read yours!

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    1. Thanks Jayne! So glad you like the sound of my book. :) It was definitely a labour of love.

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