A Certain Point of View, Too

Narrative Threads: A Conversation on Crafting the Reunion Duology, Part the Seventh

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by

Alex Diaz-Granados
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In writing a story that spans different time periods, how did you ensure continuity and consistency in the narrative?

If you examine this screenshot from Kindle Create closely, you can see the “alternating timelines” approach I took in writing Reunion: Coda.

Writing a story set in two different periods, like Jim’s high school days in the early ’80s and his adult life in early 2000, might seem tough, but I didn’t find it too hard keeping the narrative smooth and consistent. Maybe it’s because I started Reunion: A Story from the middle – with the Dancing with Marty dream sequence being the first part I wrote – and then expanded it both ways. So I penned the high school scenes first and later added the more somber, reflective 1998 sections.

To make the time periods distinct, I opted to write all the high school parts in the first person, past tense, while the 1998 frame story is in the present tense. In my head, the main event of the story happens on June 15, 1983. Without the Present-Day segments, Reunion: A Story would have ended openly, leaving readers to imagine maybe a happier conclusion themselves.

(Honestly, it also probably would have made writing a sequel way easier. But when I wrote Reunion – initially called “Love Unbroken, Love Unspoken” – I was feeling pretty pessimistic and wasn’t up for doing a follow-up, even though some people who read the draft wanted one.)

Reunion: A Story is the first volume of a two-book cycle.

When I got around to writing Reunion: Coda in March 2023, I stuck with that same style. The big change from Book 1 to Book 2 is how the Present-Day parts play a bigger role—they’re not just a backdrop for the high school scenes. It’s like a full sequel on its own. So, I alternated the chapters: one set in the ’80s, then the next in Present-Day 2000. I called the high school chapters “Interludes” and wrote them in past tense, while all the Jim and Maddie chapters are in present tense.

After wrapping up Jim’s high school story with his Class of 1983 graduation at Miami-Dade Community College, South Campus a few months back, the rest of the chapters are set in early spring 2000 and are written in the present tense. Jumping between timelines was tricky at the beginning, but after the first three chapters, it got a lot easier. Now that I’m just focusing on Jim and Maddie’s story, I don’t have to stress about the right tense or which historical details to include.