Inverted Narrative Structure: A Writing Technique. Guest post by Camille Picott. And ebook giveaway

Today YA author Camille Picott talks to us about as aspect of writing technique–inverted narrative structure. I enjoy learning more about writing–I think there’s always more that we can learn and perfect in our craft.

As a bonus, if you leave a comment on this blog post (from today until next Wed) you’ll be entered to win an ebook copy of Camille Picott’s Sulan (in mobi or epub).

On my blog, I love to discuss the various writing techniques I find in the books I read. I thought today I would share one of my own writing techniques, which I use in Sulan, Episode 1: The League. I call it the inverted narrative structure.

The inverted narrative structure looks like an upside-down triangle. It has three basic parts: 1) resolve an old problem, 2) introduce a new problem, 3) escalate the new problem.

I purposely chose the inverted narrative when structuring the chapters of Sulan. I like this method because I believe it lends itself well to a fast-paced novel. Each chapter ends on a mini cliff hanger that springboards the reader into the next chapter. The subsequent chapter resolves that cliff hanger—but by the time that chapter ends, a new cliff hanger is created. I enjoy reading books that employ this structure, such as The Hunger Games.

Many books use the classic narrative structure, which resembles a right-side-up pyramid. This structure also has three basic parts: 1) introduction of problem, 2) escalation of problem, 3) resolution of problem. Chapters employing the classic narrative structure will feel complete within themselves, and will generally not involve cliff hangers at the end. I like this structure as well, though I tend to reserve it for adult stories where a fast-paced narrative isn’t as important.

Thanks, Cheryl, for generously allowing me to write a guest post and share my YA book with your readers!

September 26th, 2012