Advice Please

[Monkeytree]

Hi,
I'm looking for some advice - I'm not sure I'm going to be understood but here goes...
At the beginning of my novel, I have outlined that certain historical deaths have taken place. It is a historical novel which is meant to move back and forth between two eras - then and modern day. My next chapter which is basically the first historical chapter recounts an event that is already known to the reader - but with a bit more back story and I can't make up my mind how effective or necessary this is - it involves major life events such as marriage and death which probably deserve to be in the book so the reader knows how the death occurred but this goes into more detail and is relevant to one of the main protagonist's state of mind and outlines how things were before her state of mind changed - starting out/getting married - just cant make up my mind how necessary it is. Anyone ever written like this - maybe it's described as telling then showing? Any advice gratefully received.

Hi monkey I'm a novice writer so not sure how valuable my advice is, but assuming your in your first draft, what I would do is write the chapter and then see if it works in the completed book. I've written a few chapters for my book and then discarded them due to feedback, or because they added nothing to the story. My novel spans 20 odd years and one of the problems I had at first was the sequencing of events as it starts in the present and then goes back in time. I'm sure once you've written it all (assuming you haven't yet) you'll find the best way to arrange your chapters. Feedback from beta readers is crucial to this I've found. Good luck with it

Hi Don'twake
My novel goes back and forth between past and present too (but two different protanonists, thanks for the advice - can I ask where you have found your betareaders?

I was in a writing group at the time and some of the group read it for me, as did some friends of mine who are into that genre, and I found someone on here who has been fantastic as she's actually a published author and gave me lots of useful advice and feedback. If you ask for beta readers on MN I'm sure you'd get a few offers. I love to read new stuff and would be willing to read it for you if/when you're ready.

Hi OP.

I suppose strictly it's not necessary to telate the save event.

However, I sometimes do this provided the second narrative adds something imperative to the plot ( so not just back story).

For example, my latest novel ( available soon in all good book shops ) moves between the present and the mid eighties.

I had to work really hard to ensure that the historical narrative did more than just give us background information. In the end I crafted a historical narrative that works as a separate story in its own right, but it also answers one of the fundamental questions asked in the current narrative.