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I need help!



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Wed Jan 22, 2014 8:49 pm
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fictionfanatic says...



Okay, SO. For two years now I have been working on the same story - researching, starting, researching, restarting, again and again. I can't quite find the way I want to do this! First, I'll tell you some about it:

Two and a half years ago I met this woman. Her mother was in a nursing home, angry at her daughter for putting her there, and her daughter wanted someone for her to talk to. She asked me if I would volunteer to spend some time with her. Long story short, the experience was extremely life changing. She told me all of these crazy, amazing stories about her life ranging from 1925 to 2012! I got permission from her daughter to write a book about them/her! Unfortunately, however, the woman I visited passed away and we never got to finish the stories.

So, for the past two years I've been filling in the blanks, taking what she told me and developing it, adding in events here and there that, due to her location and age at the time, she should have been a part of/known about. So the book is based of a true story, with a little bit of fiction here and there.

MY DILEMMA is that I can't decide how to write it. I have what I'm writing, I have all the stories, and I know what I'm putting where. BUT I cannot for THE LIFE OF ME decide whether I should:

A) have her as the narrator of the story in present tense as if the events are currently happening, OR

B) have her as the narrator of the story in past tense as if she is telling the reader/me/secondary character (like how she actually told me her stories) everything, kind of Interview with a Vampire style, OR

C) have a secondary character, who would be me in the situation, as the narrator with the woman telling me all the stories, intermediately shifting out of the past/stories to reveal bits of what the woman is like now and the funny things that happened while I was visiting her besides her stories...so it would sort of be like a mirror/comparison for the reader to see the differences and changes that affected her.......(does this one make sense? It was a little hard to word.)

SO, which do you think I should do? I keep doing one and then changing my mind and then changing my mind again. PLEAAAASE give me your opinion/advice, this is the only thing holding me back!! THANK YOU in advance!
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Wed Jan 22, 2014 8:57 pm
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OliveDreams says...



HI!
What an amazing story! You're so lucky to have been a part of her life...& I bet you gave her so much joy at just listening to her recount her life. You should be glowing with pride.

My opinion on how you should tell her story? First person narrative. Give her that amazing life back in the pages you create. What better way of honouring her time in the world, than giving us the chance of reliving those memories alongside her?

By all means, introduce her to us in a personal prologue of how you met, her funny quirks and how she easily fell in to the retelling of her life....and then let her do the talking!

Good luck! I'd love to see some chapters once you start writing? I'd be happy to continue to give you advice on this. PM me anytime!

Olive <3
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Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:10 pm
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crossroads says...



While I agree with what Olive said, I would prefer to read it in either the B) or C) way of the above.

When it comes to the A) option, I think present tense would in a way destroy the feeling of it, seeing as it's all not only happening in the past, but the narrator isn't even alive anymore. I would in any case much prefer past tense, because it simply feels so much nicer to let a voice of the past lead you into some other time that way.

The option B) is done quite a lot, I believe, but it doesn't at all mean it's bad. It gives you certain freedom, seeing as you can technically turn it into the option C) at any given time, if you decide you need a secondary character - or leave it just as the narration, but have her speak to the reader(s) directly.

The last C)-ish book I read (that is, one which is written in that style), was The Thirteenth Tale, where the narrator is this girl who then talks to the writer who tells her of her past, to keep it very short. What I found a problem with that book, and others written in the same way, was that the writers tend to give too much attention to one of those storylines, and use the other just as background, less important and just serving as a sort of stage for the real story to happen on. When one doesn't fall into that trap, however, it is absolutely beautiful, in my opinion. It allows for a lot of characterisation and the readers can at the same time connect to both narrators, as one connects to the other in the story itself.

Hence I prefer the C) option, though I wouldn't mind the B) either. I suggest you start writing it as B), and then see how you feel about adding yourself/secondary character in there. Add them at whichever point you need them, and then you can add a chapter or prologue or a scene here and there which develops that character's story as well.
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Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:21 pm
fictionfanatic says...



@OliveDreams Thank you so much for your advice and for those kind words! If you'd like, once I get this figured out and start writing it I'll send you some snips and chapters! Thanks again! :D

@AriaAdams Thanks for your advice! I've been struggling with this for months, arguing with myself back and forth on the pros and cons of! Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!
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Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:23 pm
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OliveDreams says...



Definitely! And you're more than welcome! :D

Olive <3
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Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:36 pm
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CowLogic says...



Yeah, I would definitely say C. Kind of reminds me of the movie Big Fish, which is pretty much a masterpiece.
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Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:40 pm
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fictionfanatic says...



@CowLogic Thank you for your input! This has been driving me crazy!
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Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:33 pm
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deleted30 says...



I say C all the way. But really, you can't go wrong; this sounds incredible! :smt003
  





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Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:41 pm
fictionfanatic says...



@Lucrezia thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it!!
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Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:30 am
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Holysocks says...



I like C best... It just seems like it would feel more cozy.
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Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:41 am
fictionfanatic says...



@Holysocks thank you!!
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Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:56 am
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BenFranks says...



Hey there.

I love the idea of C. If we have a relationship developing between you and the lady whose stories we're learning about I think we'll feel far more connected. Best of all you could go on to develop the daughter-mother relationship too and perhaps lead on to some sort of reconciliation/forgiveness for the situation over the nursing home. That would create a wonderfully evocative story.
  





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Thu Jan 23, 2014 12:48 pm
fictionfanatic says...



@BenFranks Thank you for the input!!
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Thu Jan 23, 2014 6:14 pm
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Cailey says...



So a lot of people have voted for C, and I definitely agree with them. I think that would be a really great way for you to tell the story and let the reader connect.
I think there are two ways you could go even with option C that you need to decide, though. You could focus mainly on this woman's stories and tell most of the story through flashbacks. Like Princess Bride where the grandfather is telling the story to his grandson, so the story is the main plot but you also have the little subplot of the kid and his grandpa.

Or you could connect them more and have both plots be important. The best example of this that I can think of is the book Thirteen Reasons Why, where the two plotlines, the events told on the recordings and the boy listening to the recording, are both equally important and both characters are main characters. This is harder, because like AriaAdams said, you have to be careful not to give too much focus on one storyline and make the other a background story. So if you go this way you would need to tell the woman's story and tell how they affected you.

I hope this makes sense, and like some other people said, this sounds like a great story and I wish you the best of luck!
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Thu Jan 23, 2014 9:14 pm
fictionfanatic says...



@Cailey thank you so much! That's definitely something I'm going to consider!
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