: 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

@Nickens642

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I'm writing my murder/mystery debut novel. It takes place between 1980 and 2005. In 1980 someone gets murdered, and the killer(whoever it is) gets away with it, planting evidence on another character. That is my main plot.

I believe every character should have their own subplot-- Every character is living their ordinary life, when they get pulled into the story. In 2005, certain events happen that bring the original plot back on the surface. The case gets opened back up, when my protagonist looks into what had happened in 1980, and I go back and fourth between the 1980 plot, and the present day plot.

I feel the need to do it this way, so the reader does not get confused. What i do is, if my last chapter was in 2005, and i wanna go back to 1980, is at the top of the new chapter, i put a subtitle.(July 4,1980), and when i go back to 2005, i put the subtitle (September 12,2005).

That way the reader knows exactly where they are, and they can see flashbacks of how the original plot comes together with the present day plot, until the final resolution. They get to see what brought certain characters together, and the reader can eventually connect the dots to the whole story.

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