Laura Templeton | Layered Stories: A Writer’s Time Machine

I’ve always been partial to layered stories, novels where you flit back and forth between past and present, where juicy details and clues are revealed with painstaking elegance. Some of my favorites that are structured in this manner and that immediately come to mind are EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE and ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. Karen White’s books (like A LONG TIME GONE and ON FOLLY BEACH) also frequently use this technique with excellent results.

When I first began writing SUMMER OF THE OAK MOON, I—being somewhat clueless, as this was my first novel—didn’t plan to write a layered story. But a rather short first draft revealed that the underpinnings needed some definite shoring up! After giving it some thought, I decided that the best way to provide the back story and historical context, which were crucial to the main story, was to use a combination of the character of Lulu and the dreams she initiates in Tess to reveal the past to the reader. In retrospect, this was a natural choice due to my love of complex, layered stories. In my second novel (and the first to be published), SOMETHING YELLOW, I also utilize this technique, but I got there a lot quicker the second time around!

Below are three things I’ve learned about writing layered stories, distilled the hard way—from my own experiences.

1. Use layering to add depth to your stories.

Using layered stories is like having a time machine. We can’t all travel to the past, obviously, and unless you’re writing science fiction your characters can’t either. (Okay, I cheated slightly in SUMMER OF THE OAK MOON since Tess travels back in time through her dreams.) As a writer it can be daunting to fill in important historical details and clues that help your protagonist solve her dilemma or that help your reader to understand even more about events than the story’s main character does (like in EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE). Telling a story from the perspectives of multiple characters in multiple time periods weaves complexity into a novel. The author can provide historical context and backstory without subjecting the reader to boring information dumps.

2. Be systematic about tracking details.

Bouncing back and forth between 1982 and 1959 in SUMMER OF THE OAK MOON led to a litany of events that needed to be tracked, but when I wrote the novel I didn’t think to take notes or to organize my information in any particular way. As a result, I spent far too much time trying to remember who knew what and when they knew it. Having multiple characters in multiple time periods can get confusing. In Karen White’s A LONG TIME GONE, there are three women of three entirely different generations telling the story. That makes for a lot of details to keep straight. (And she pulls it off so well!) For my second novel, I was smart enough to use an Excel spreadsheet to track characters and important plot points. This was much more efficient than relying on my memory. I also use index cards to help sort things out. I put each scene on an index card and lay them all out on the guestroom bed. (Then threaten anyone who touches them with bodily harm!) I have visions of turning our office into one big giant whiteboard so I can layout stories across the walls...but so far that’s just a dream. Choose a method that works for you, and use it—some notes are better than none. Take my advice on that.

3. Treat each scene like you’re building an outfit.

You may own a drawer full of jewelry, but you don’t wear it all at the same time. You pick and choose what suits your outfit. And over time, others get a sense of style from how you put yourself together. Think of each scene like putting together an outfit to wear—be selective. Identify what small detail really makes the scene or time period pop and use it. As a writer, you don’t want to put everything you learned from your reading and researching into each scene or character. All you need are very specific details—and think of all five senses, here—that clearly point to the time period you’re writing about. Don’t go overboard. The quality of the details—their ability to draw in the reader—is much more important than the quantity, so avoid long sections of descriptions. When the details resonate, the reader will do the work of stringing them together to get a rich portrait of the time period and/or place you’re writing about.

Giveaway

Readers, do you enjoy books that draw you into the past? Leave a comment below to be entered to win a copy of SUMMER OF THE OAK MOON. Three ebook winners will be chosen; international entries accepted.

About SUMMER OF THE OAK MOON

Rejected by the exclusive women’s college she has her heart set on, Tess Seibert dreads the hot, aimless summer ahead. But when a chance encounter with a snake introduces her to Jacob Lane, a black college student home on his summer break, a relationship blooms that challenges the prejudices of her small, north Florida town.

When Jacob confesses that Tess’s uncle is trying to steal his family’s land, Tess comes face to face with the hatred that simmers just below the surface of the bay and marshes she’s loved since birth. With the help of her mentor Lulu, an herbal healer, Tess pieces together clues to the mysterious disappearance of Jacob’s father twenty-two years earlier and uncovers family secrets that shatter her connection to the land she loves.

Tess and Jacob’s bond puts them both in peril, and discontent eventually erupts into violence. Tess is forced to make a decision. Can she right old wrongs and salvage their love? Or will prejudice and hatred kill any chance she and Jacob might have had?

SUMMER OF THE OAK MOON is a stunning Southern historical that takes place in the 1980's.

About Laura Templeton

Laura Templeton lives near Athens, Georgia, with her husband, son, and a menagerie of animals. When she’s not writing, she enjoys gardening, learning to figure skate, and taking long walks on the quiet country roads near her home. Something Yellow is her debut novel, and her creative nonfiction has appeared in various publications.

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