Young Writers Society

I'm writing a Fantasy novel. Well, when I say writing.... I had the idea about a year ago, and I've written perhaps 20,000 words in different drafts since then, plus a lot of planning. I've had these horrible things in England called GCSEs so I haven't been able to get down to it properly.
I have three main characters: Areia, Florrie and Ruby. They're all women whose stories converge as they struggle against the Renaissance-ish society in which they live which doesn't allow them to study magic. I've been trying to start the story with a little Prologue of a few chapters, set eight years before the main drama starts, but it's just not coming out.
Then I had an idea tonight: start the novel a year into the proper story. After the one I think of as my main character has died (Areia). She actually hasn't and would come back at the end... I could tell her story through a diary that Florrie would find.
The issue is that there are some really dramatic moments I'd miss out and only be able to tell in retrospect. Areia kills her brother and falls in love with her professor, Florrie gets a backstreet abortion and becomes involved in a ring of mystics... All this would have to be weaved in as past history, and I think I'd miss out on character development.
But at the same time writing it this way feels like an exciting challenge.
What do you think? Which would you prefer to read: a story in chronological order with some dramatic scenes and world and character building that developed towards the mayhem (poisoning the Chief Wizard, bringing down an Illuminati type circle, magically causing an earthquake, freeing dragons) and then concluded with a nice little epilogue?
Or a story that started in the middle when you find out simply that a young woman has been burnt and a group of other women are very angry and have been radicalised by this? We then find out more about the burnt woman through the recollections of her roommate (who becomes Florrie's lover) and the diary she kept, as events in the city become more dramatic, before the book ends with a dramatic battle.
I'm sorry this is really messy! I guess I basically want advice on starting a book in the middle having missed a bunch of important story stuff, or should I just knuckle down and go from the start?

I would write what you feel. Bottom line, if you're not into the story, no one else is going to be either. If you're heart isn't in it and you're feeling a different story line, your writing will suffer. (I know from experience). I think both storylines sound interesting, and I think they both could be really good if the execution is there.

I think there's something exciting about starting in the middle and leaving lots of room for mystery (mystery is good in novels! It keeps people reading!) You mentioned that the first way would have lots of dramatic scenes and character development - why can't the second idea have that as well? I know looking back on a character feels a little different, but if done effectively we can still learn a lot about the character and feel a lot for the character.

Let's use Harry Potter as an example. (All of the following is a spoiler alert if you haven't read the books!)

Most of that story is told in chronological order. Most of the (amazing) character development we experience happens through these chronological events and lots of exciting plot things.

However, there are a few characters we learn about retrospectively. The two that jump out to me are Dumbledore and Snape. Now obviously there was quite a bit of character development with both of these characters before they die. But even more happens after their death.

In the last book, we learn all about Dumbledore's childhood, how he became such an amazing wizard, why he never sought power, etc. We also learn about Snape's childhood, his love for Lily, and why he turned from the Dark Arts. At least to me, all of those revelations in the final book were amazing pieces of character development. So it can be done either way. Your book is a little different because the reader will never know Areia, but I still think it could be effective.

Another thing to think about if you go with your second option, is writers often know much more back story for their characters than ever ends up in the book. (JK Rowling is another excellent example of this). While all or Areia's story may be interesting, it's up to you to figure out what is crucial for your reader to know in order to move the plot forward. Not all of it has to make the book.


PS - your avatar is absolutely adorable. I love guinea pigs so much. I can't wait until I can get my bunny some guinea pig friends <3 <3

Thank you so much for your help Carlito. Having mused it all over last night and then read your thoughts this morning, I think I may have a shot at this starting in the middle malarkey...
If it all goes to pot and I return to the previous model then at least it's got my fingers going again after a long hiatus, and I'll have developed what will then be the middle of my novel a bit more in my mind! Mohsin Hamid rewrote and rewrote The Reluctant Fundamentalist over seven years, doing it in third person, first person, etc. etc. and that's one of the most perfs novels ever, so I guess I shouldn't be afraid of "wasting time" trying a different format!
What you said about Harry Potter was really helpful. They're my favourite books ever so it's a useful one for me to think about when thinking about what I want my own writing to be like. Areia will actually come back (she transformed herself into a dragon when they burnt her and then escaped after she summoned a murder of crows to kill the watching crowd) and will then be involved in the witches causing a giant earthquake, but when we're introduced to her it will be as a dead girl... :-/
Thank you and wish me luck Oh and guinea pigs are my life. My piggies are my rock in the world and really just my everything.

You said it perfectly! If it doesn't work out and you don't like it - nothing is set it stone and you can always change it
Glad you found it helpful and best of luck writing it!!

(We're going to have to find each other on chat or something and talk about guinea pigs.)

Carlito wrote:I would write what you feel. Bottom line, if you're not into the story, no one else is going to be either. If you're heart isn't in it and you're feeling a different story line, your writing will suffer. (I know from experience).

I find this so true. It's been almost a year and a half I've been dwelling on my novel. I've waited till I had everything planned out before I even started my first draft. I've sometimes seemed to give up, but I always come back to it somehow. The reason is that those characters scream (literally) to have their lives, thoughts, reveries poured out on paper. But that is only half the process... They are only actors and must serve a role for the greater good.

The only reason I'm telling you this is that you'll probably have to put a lot (both story and character-wise) aside in order to knit this featherweight fabric that will make everything add up in the end. There's someone there you'll have to convince to read your novel. My advice would be, keep it simple (whether you pick the the beginning, middle or end of your story to start with)! Make sure you're writing something believable (within your genre) without going into too much detail (you can also leave some space for unexplained bits that drag your reader to the next page/chapter/part). And most of all, have fun! Believe it or not, the way you feel about your novel (and yourself) will drastically influence your writing. Here's some bedside reading for you:

Five Steps to Finishing a Novel

That is all for now. Enjoy your novel, and...

Good Luck!
-Lorelie