January 23, 2018
Linear Narrative Progression? No, Thanks
Narrative Progression: From Point A to Point B
One of the biggest markers of inexperienced genre fiction writers is the way their narratives progress. In genre fiction such as romance fiction, detective fiction, etc. events often occur in a very linear way. A leads to B which leads to C; one second, then one second, then one second. A narrative progression where events are described in the order they have occurred is called a linear narrative progression and, as you realize, it is the simplest way to narrate an event. Let’s see a quick example, which we can later adapt and reuse.
Last weekend I went to New York and met a guy named John. Today I saw John walking down the street here, in Boston. We agreed to go fishing next Sunday
It’s a clear, natural-looking example. You wouldn’t think that there’s anything wrong with producing an entire narrative like that, right? Only, there is, which is the motivation behind today’s article. I will first show you why it’s a bad idea to structure your book following a linear narrative progression, then I will show you how to restructure it in a nonlinear narrative progression.
Why a Linear Narrative Progression Is a Bad Idea
The problem with a linear narrative progression is that it leaves no room for creativity. It is the very act of temporal shifting that emphasizes certain portions and downplays others. At the same time, a nonlinear narrative progression allows the author to deliberately withhold information to create a certain effect. Let’s take another look at our example, only this time without a linear narrative progression.
Next Sunday I’ll go fishing with a guy named John. I saw him today walking down the street. I’d met him last weekend, when I’d gone to New York
Although this is a very simple, short set of sentences, there is an immediate effect for the reader. “What do you mean ‘ a guy named John’, who is he?” “You saw him down the street and now you’re going fishing? I don’t get it.” “Ah, OK, now I see. You’d already met him earlier.”
Of course, this is only a sentence-level example. In actual fact, when we talk about a nonlinear or a linear narrative progression, we really mean it on the narrative-level. In other words, not so much in the way sentences are formed (though of course you could still use it for effect as in the example above), as much as the way the entire narrative is formedTo see more on the difference, also see my reference to multi-level deployment strategies for developing your authorial voice.. Now, let’s take a closer look at this.
The Narrative Is more than just a Sum of Its Parts
What many inexperienced authors fail to realize, is that a narrative – a book of fiction, to put it simply – is more than just the sum of its parts. There is a vast abstract area hidden “around” words (quotation marks because it’s not space-bound), where meaning resides. And a nonlinear narrative progression is one of the tools the writer can use to exploit this fact.
This hopefully became visible already with the short example further above. The simple temporal rearrangement of phrases was enough to stir a reaction, creating ripples of affect; making the reader wonder, feel uncomfortable, or even be disturbed. Imagine what this strategy can do with a narrative.
An Example of Linear versus Nonlinear Narrative Evolution
I will now give you an example of how you can use a nonlinear narrative progression to improve the affective power of your novel. I will give you two instances of what could be a very short synopsis of a book, first a linear then a nonlinear, so that you can see for yourself how important this aspect of writing can be. Try to imagine what would happen if the entire book was written in the order displayed by the blurbs below
Linear Narrative Progression
Ten years ago, a man called Tom Smith broke into an apartment and killed the parents of a child called John Roberts. The man was never caught, and changed his name to George Thomas. In the present day, John Roberts is about to marry a woman called Margaret Thomas, daughter of John’s boss, George Thomas. On the wedding day, at the reception, some discussions with relatives and friends make John realize that George Thomas is the man who killed his parents. John shoots and kills George in front of the guests. He is arrested. A police detective talks with him, trying to understand why he did it. He reminds him that he is under arrest for murder. John appears empty as he explains that this was the man who’d killed his parents. The police officer seems sympathetic.
Nonlinear Narrative Progression
A police detective talks with a man called John Roberts, who seems to be under arrest for some reason. John begins to talk about the previous days, leading up to his wedding with Margaret Thomas, the daughter of his boss, George Thomas. He also talks about his childhood, and how his parents were killed by a man called Tom Smith, who was never caught. The police detective reminds him he is under arrest for murder. John appears empty as he explains that the man whom he killed was the man who’d killed his parents. He continues his narration, describing the events of the wedding day and the reception, where some discussions with relatives and friends make John realize that George Thomas was in fact Tom Smith. John describes how he shot and killed Tom Smith. The police officer seems sympathetic.
I will now use a phrase that I could’ve used from the beginning, but I deliberately withheld it (nonlinear narrative progression!) to make you see the point. The phrase is plot twist and it is precisely a tool facilitated by a nonlinear narrative progression. Look at the two excerpts above and, as I said, try to picture how it would look like if the author had written the entire book in that order. Wouldn’t you agree that the second example would lead to a much better narrative?
Concrete Advice on Working with Nonlinear Narrative Progression
Concluding this post, I’d like to give you a few simple tips. Hopefully these writing tips can help you arrange your narrative in a nonlinear fashion. They’re simple, perhaps self-evident for some, but I see a vast number of texts that seem to ignore these tips. This is the reason why so often you see lackluster narratives similar to the one described in the “linear narrative progression” blurb further above.
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Know where Your Narrative Is Going…
As I said, this might seem as self-evident. But depending on your writing style, you might be one of those authors who begin to write and advance quite a bit without having a clear idea what will occur later on. This is fine (and a narrative is supposed to partially be a subconscious process). But at the same time you must have at least an idea of a direction. Because…
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… and Learn to Prioritize what the Reader Needs to Know and when
Do you want to know one of the greatest secrets of writing fiction (and perhaps creating art in general)? It’s not about what you show, but what you don’t. Writing is an art of instigating a reaction – one, ideally, based on feelings, thoughts, and states of mind (affect, in other words). And in order to do that skillfully, you must allow the reader to form their own meaning. Leave blanks for the reader to fill, don’t offer everything as a ready solution.
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Learn the Difference between Plot and Narrative and Plan them Separately
The plot of a novel is the story; what happens in the book. The narrative, on the other hand, is the way the author presents the plot to the reader. When you plan your novel, you must basically have two separate orders in your mind (or your notes, in any case): one for the plot (what will happen, from point/time A to point/time B) and one for the narrative (how it will happen, which way you will follow to go from point/time A to point/time B).
2 Comments
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Thanks for this text, well said
It’s completely obvious that you framed the linear progression as terribly as you possibly could to make your nonlinear example look better. And the nonlinear section honestly isn’t much better. When you tried to give a hard and fast that one is simply better, that should have been my first red flag, but for some reason I’m still here, reading.
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