: Re: When should one *not* present events in chronological order? Some stories tell well from beginning to end, all in a neat little line...and some don't. When can a story be improved by using

@Hamaas631

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Call me boring, but, at least for now, I only disobey the chronological order for historical-based interludes. In my current novel, which spans for thousands of years, I need to sometimes describe events that happened a long time in the past, so that I present them as sources or motives for events in the present.

Character introductions is another area when you can benefit from this, but you shouldn't abuse it.

I think that it is very difficult to write a novel which makes often use of multiple time layers. That is because usually, the brain perceives time linearly. It's a technique which is hard to master. But if you only use it sparingly, you should definitely take advantage of your inner time machine ::- D.

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