Quote:
Originally Posted by dwig
I recommend looking at John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar for an example of this type of structure. Reading the table of contents is actually valuable as it illustrates the book's construction. Alao look at his The Sheep Look Up.[...]
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Thanks. That does raise the question of how to handle the table of contents for such books. Unlike Brunner's work (and my previous novels), I don't (currently) expect to have actual chapter titles in this story, just the chapter number and character name.
I happen to have James Patterson's "When the Wind Blows" in paperback and can see that it does NOT list the chapters in the front matter (as I would expect), but on Amazon I can see his Kindle edition lists chapters at the front as:
One
Two
Three
...etc...
In my case the TOC would probably appear something like:
1. Carla
2. Matt
3. Ruth
4. Carla
5. Matt
...etc...
Is this what readers would prefer to see in ebooks, even though it will span several pages? (It seems a little redundant to me, since the ebook keeps my place anyway.)
Note: Metadata chapter selection would work as normal, I am asking here about whether the TOC should show in the front matter (which Kindle normally jumps over anyway, but not all EPUB readers).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinisajoy
Just do this reader a favor: make sure the time skips fit all the characters. Not just one especially if the others are in danger.
Don't leave Nell tied to the train track. That only works in Dudley Do Right.
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That's one of the things that seems to work neatly with the short chapter form. We get to "touch base" with everyone and see what they have been up to without feeling as if you're getting an info dump. It seems to give a sense of movement where little movement exists - or maybe I'm just getting better at it (I can always hope
).