Young Writers Society

OK, I'm writing a story, and it has a lot to do with the main character's traumatized past. I guess It's basically an opinion thing, but should I start off with her as a child so the readers start off knowing, or just jump into her as an adult and explain the childhood as it goes along. Please someone reply.

Hmm, I think it would be more interesting if it started as an Adult, then piece by piece, the past is revealed. It makes it more interesting and would make me want to read more of it to find out a bit more of her past. ^_^ If it starts as a child, it gives it all away.

Does this make sense? PM me if anything doesn't make sense, or if you have other questions. ^_^

~Arris

I do a lot of jumping back and forth in my stories. Most of my favorite books ("La Ciudad y los Perros", "La Casa Verde", both by Mario Vargas Llosa) build their stories by presenting tiny pieces of a huge picture, until it starts to come together. It makes the book more interesting, I think. It's like a mystery. You don't know why a character acts a certain way, and then you read why, and it's like: "Oh." Or you don't know why a certain part of the book is important, until you read another part that's somehow related to it, and you go: "Oh."

Vargas Llosa takes this to an extreme, by actually using different names for flashbacks (a character named Bob, for example, can be referred to as The Boy in some sections), which makes it harder to tell who it is the narrator is talking about until everything falls in together, and then it's beautiful.

I agree, start with the adult life and show through different plot devices, such as flashbacks (handle with care!) and hints at her past. "Poison Study" is a good example of this (and an all-around good novel). And remember, the traumatized past means nothing unless the character is believable and sympathetic in the present.

I agree that starting with your character as an adult would work best but it might be interesting to have a prologue of when the character was a child, just to build a little suspense.

Yes, agree with Firearris: a fractured narrative like this would be far more suspenseful and generate greater interest.

OK, thanks, now I can finally start.

Three options here, most have been suggested already. I'd agree that fractured narrative is your best bet for suspense. Dramatic irony (where the audience knowns what's going on but the character doesn't) is extremely hard to pull off, especially when it's your central theme.