How to Write a Layered Narrative–Some Suggestions

If you haven’t got the patience to write a layered narrative, simply create one by piling other people’s novels on top of each other.

Image © Paul

In redrafting my WIP novel, Gwillum Hobnail’s Affairs of the Undershade, I’ve come to the realisation that the structure of the narrative is a bit muddled. Having read it through carefully, it seems that I’ve been inadvertently writing three different, but linked, narrative strands – a primary narrative, a secondary narrative, and a meta-narrative.

By separating these out, both in my mind and on the page, I’m confident that I can tell a much richer story, much more clearly. The following principles could be applied just as effectively to a stage play, an epic poem, or possibly a very long scarf. Hopefully some of you will find them useful.

 

Primary Narrative

This is the main story, the one that’s driving the entire novel forwards. It takes up most of the word count, and is the primary focus of the reader’s attention and interest. It’s almost always going to be written in the past tense.

Every novel needs a primary narrative – that’s essentially what a story is. There’s plenty of excellent advice for general story writing out there, and all of it can be applied to the primary narrative, so without further ado, I’ll move on…

 

Secondary Narrative

This is a second, different, but related story, woven throughout the primary narrative. The two can be linked either directly through the narrative, or thematically. Sometimes it can be used as a ‘frame’ for the primary narrative, as in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which begins and ends with Frankenstein searching for the Creature in the Arctic (secondary), during which time he recounts how the Creature was originally created, and how it escaped (primary).

Having a character from the novel narrate the story opens up all sorts of interesting possibilities, because they can be recounting past events whilst simultaneously alluding to related events happening to them in the present tense.

Alternatively, the secondary narrative could take place within the same tense and time-frame as the primary narrative, but tell of completely different events. These events may appear unrelated until later on, when both narratives converge, as in Pulp Fiction.

In fact, Pulp Fiction layers numerous narratives in this way. You too could opt for a tertiary or even a quaternary narrative, if you’re brave enough, and think you can avoid confusing the reader.

Just remember – there’s no point in having a secondary narrative if it doesn’t relate to or enhance the primary narrative. If it doesn’t do either of those things, it probably needs to be a separate novel.

 

Meta-Narrative

I don’t know if there is such a phrase as ‘meta-narrative’ – I may have just invented it, but it works. This is essentially a story that isn’t told directly, but is implied by the information strewn throughout the primary and secondary narratives.

Essentially, rather than explaining a sequence of events to the reader, you are allowing them to slowly build up a picture of these events for themselves.

For example, Affairs of the Undershade is set in a post-cataclysmic world. The events that led to the cataclysm (which in turn shaped the setting of the novel) are never made explicit, but there are enough hints buried within the myths, locations and conversations of the primary narrative for the attentive reader to form a complete picture.

Crucially, nothing in the meta-narrative should be essential to the reader’s understanding of the primary narrative. You can’t assume that the reader will be that observant. It’s just enhances the primary narrative for those who are.

 

Finally, after all that, I’ll say this – be wary of over-plotting! It’s all about balance. Probably.

Are you writing a novel? What narrative structure are you using? Click the ‘comments’ button below, or e-mail pithytitle@live.co.uk