“Shape-the-Book” time!

Hello boys and girls, it’s Shape-the-Book time!

Work progresses steadily on book three of the Molly Fyde saga, and in this tale, the action takes place simultaneously across three locales.

I’m writing the rough draft by telling each story separately, so I don’t lose momentum, and adding scene breaks at natural, cliff-hangery spots. Later, I’ll weave the book together so all three stories progress in parallel.

Here’s the question that will help shape the eventual structure of the book: Do you prefer these multiple viewpoint stories when the author switches rapidly between each scene within a single chapter? Or do you like it better when the chapter sticks with one locale, and setting changes take place at the end of each chapter?

With the first type of book, you get a real mix of the variety of action taking place at once and you don’t have to wait as long to get to your “favorite” storyline.

With the latter, you get to settle into each character and scene and might feel less of a sense of “rush,” but also, perhaps, less positive tension.

The final product will have a mix of these two techniques, but which would you like to see more of? Vote away with your comments and expound as much as you like.