: Re: Maintaining distance I am working on a novel inspired by the Shahnameh - a Persian epic poem by Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi. The Shahnameh (the title means "The Book of Kings") is structured as a

@Gonzalez219

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Build yourself an excuse for knowing what you wish to reveal; the story you are currently telling was related to you by others.

When Rodrick first told Geoffrey's tale, he tells us, on this journey Geoffrey had fallen in love with Antonia, though even Geoffrey, at the time, did not recognize this feeling. Oh, he'd been in lust many times, but never in love. All Geoffrey knew is that when the time came for her to depart, when she embraced him and kissed his cheek to wish him well, his heart surged and his life was changed. He confided to Rodrick, years later, he felt all his great plans fallen, his future wiped clean and writ anew. If his life was not beside Antonia, it held no more meaning.

If your tale has been told and retold, it was first told by someone. Make the original teller a friend or confidant, a family member or priest close to your hero, that can (when necessary) explain the more intimate moments. In my example, Rodrick is the original teller, and heard Geoffrey's most intimate thoughts directly from Geoffrey, albeit years after the fact. And Rodrick's first-hand report is preserved.

Obviously in the generational sense, you need different confidant's for each, but it takes little space to introduce them: We don't need to know anything about Rodrick except what is given, he needs no personality. He is just a prop to let me plausibly reveal Geoffrey's inner feelings, at arm's length.

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