: Re: Writing a Non Fiction: Need to Format a Continuous Side Bar I am writing a novel with two stories simulatenously running alongside each other. That is, on each page there is a main story,

@Debbie451

Vote Up Vote Down

You're working in the wrong programs.

I haven't used LibreOffice, but Word is a word processing program. It's not a layout program.

Write your stories in Word or whatever. Write them in two separate documents and use whatever manual note system you prefer to indicate where content has to align. (Word has a Review tab for this, so adding comments throughout will probably be simplest; you can toggle them to be visible or not.)

If you are self-publishing, you then need to lay everything out in a page layout program like InDesign. That's what that kind of program is meant for.

If you are going the traditional publishing route, you just have to explain to the agent(s) you're querying what you intend in terms of layout, and if you get a book deal, it's up to the publisher to lay it out properly.

On a separate note: I have seen that kind of simultaneous story at least once, maybe twice, and honestly I don't recommend it. It's difficult for the reader. You have to read one column and then stop the flow of reading to read the other column. It's not a great experience. Alternating chapters or sections gets the job done in a more efficient fashion, and then people can flip back and forth if they need to compare events.

(0)

Login to post a comment!