In an article for Writer’s Digest, Elle Marr discusses how to write a novel with more than one narrative and when and why you might want to write one. “Your purpose in including multiple points of view can offer a variety of benefits: new information around an event, a means of skirting the secrets of a story without revealing them too soon, a different interpretation of a pivotal moment, or the Big Idea you hope the reader leaves with as the final takeaway from your story,” Marr says.
However, regardless of whether the narratives intersect, the storylines should complement each other. “The best stories featuring two narratives have an inter-dependence between them that is satisfying for the reader, all the way to the final page,” Marr writes. “If the two narratives you envision don’t correlate or complement one another, they might be better off as two separate books.”
Marr also warns that once you’ve started your novel, you may discover that the story doesn’t need more than one narrative. “Do they both serve your story in unique ways?” she asks. “Can one narrative be told in another way, or as a sub-plot from the primary point of view in a way that would better enhance the reader’s experience?” Those are essential questions to ask before you get too attached to the outcome. Once you decide to remove a narrative, Marr advises doing so as soon as possible, so that you don’t waste good material in sections that may be cut later.
