Spicy Idea for Novel Structure

[Kureshi Ironclaw]

Okay so I had this idea whilst thinking about musical serialism. Basically I'm envisioning a novel where the chapters can be read in any order and the story still makes sense. Ideally the randomization would occur at the print stage (although this would probably be easier in e-book editions) so that each reader gets a copy of the book that has a different order of chapters. That way the order won't be dictated by the reader like in a choose your own adventure book or whatever.

I've got a setting, a character, and a story that I'm basing this around, but I honestly don't think I'm smart enough to pull something like this off. What are the types of things that you guys think would/wouldn't work in a structure like this? I think pacing and tension would be huge difficulties, in that climactic scenes could show up at any point in the story and potentially undercut any tension going forward.

[ginger_reckoning]

This is a really intriguing idea! Likewise, I don't think I could pull it off either, haha. But I think you could pull it off if you were very careful in the structure of the story. For instance, I think that the beginning chapter(s) and the very end would not be randomized, just for the sake of clarity and tension as you noted, but the middle could be fairly randomized. If each scene were fairly self-contained but also had overarching ambiguous elements that could be used in every scene (the plague killed even more people, Joe got stronger, etc) Anyway, I think this idea has a lot of potential!

[Kureshi Ironclaw]

Yeah I was thinking the ending climactic sequence would have to stay where it is, but I'm not too worried about if the beginning is random. I'm all for starting in media res and having the reader gradually piece together what is going on.

The story I have in mind is told from the perspective of a sort of bounty hunter bound into the service of a galactic government. The government are able to control the character on an extreme level, to the point of being able to command him to forget things. I think this sort of structure would help highlight how unreliable the character's memories are and call into question the chronology of events (which could potentially be its own source of tension building). The character is aware that he is having his memory erased and the primary conflict of the story revolves around him trying to formulate and execute a plan to overthrow the government whilst not being able to trust his own mind or remember entirely what the plan is.

[ginger_reckoning]

That is a really cool idea! You could have each section be a mission that he completes and then has his memory erased at the end. And since his mind is erased, it is plausible that he could forget conclusions that he had arrived at earlier, but then remember them for the climax...

[Kureshi Ironclaw]

Yeah that could be fun way to give it a bit more structure. I'm wary about showing the memory wiping on screen at any point though. I think I could get a lot of tension out of having both the reader and the character unsure about whether memories have been tampered with. Part of the inspiration for this idea came after I wrote three scenes with the character that implied a direct chronology, but there were several lines about worldbuilding elements and such in some scenes that directly contradicted other scenes. That was just me being sloppy, but I decided I was too lazy to fix them and instead decided that these contradictions could imply that the character has had their memory tampered with inbetween each scene. That then makes the chronology of the scenes ambiguous and I think will make the reader wonder if the members of the government are more aware of what the character is up to than they are letting on.

[Duke of Lizards]

I think that this could be accomplished easier through multiple POVs.  You could have a single event that is experienced by multiple characters and you can present their POV of the situation in no particular order.  They each have some role to play in the big climax and resolution (which the reader will know after the first POV), but you can explore how each person is affected throughout the sequence.  Throw in some swords and magic, and I'd totally read that book!  

[Kureshi Ironclaw]

@Duke of Lizards sounds like that movie Vantage Point (I think that is what it's called). It's a cool idea but I don't think that particular structure will work very well for the story I have in mind. I'm really keen to explore how the ambiguity of having a single unreliable POV will contribute to the dramatic tension of the story. I also need to practice writing stories with single POVs, because I usually do rely on jumping between a large cast of characters.

[Wyndlerunner]

This sounds very intriguing as far as structure goes, but I do believe you'd have to be very careful with a single unreliable narrator. If you are too unreliable, then the reader would be even more confused, and personally speaking, if I am both confused, and don't trust the lens through which I'm viewing the story, it makes me disinclined to finish the story, or to be particularly invested in the characters and the plot.

[Kureshi Ironclaw]

@Wyndlerunner I totally agree with you. It will be a hard balance to walk, and I would hope that having other elements like strong and entertaining character voice would help pull the reader through. The ambiguity ties in so heavily with the themes of truth and the character's core conflicts that I would want to keep as much of it in as I could whilst still keeping the story coherent.

[Wyndlerunner]

3 hours ago, Kureshi Ironclaw said:

@Wyndlerunner I totally agree with you. It will be a hard balance to walk, and I would hope that having other elements like strong and entertaining character voice would help pull the reader through. The ambiguity ties in so heavily with the themes of truth and the character's core conflicts that I would want to keep as much of it in as I could whilst still keeping the story coherent.

An admirable goal indeed. And one that I wish you the best of luck with.

[Ripheus23]

For some historical inspiration, I suggest Naked Lunch, which was designed to be readable (sort of haha!) in any order (by section IIRC).

EDIT: Actually, having read that book, not sure I can ACTUALLY recommend it haha. Let me say, I recommend it with a bucket of salt, and you don't want to know where that salt came from.

Edited October 23, 2019 by Ripheus23