So, I’m about to start on the assembly portion of Love & Loyalty. For my others novels this was a very straight forward process. I write from an outline, proceeding in a linear fashion from cause to effect, beginning to end. I write the manuscripts, chapter by chapter and then put all the chapters together in sequence to make the file of the manuscript.

Love and Loylaty is not working that way any more.

When I started the editing on this pass, it was because my sentence level craft had improved and I wanted the book to reflect that. (It was not well written enough for professional publication before, now it might be.) I also made a decision to open up the number of points of view which allowed me to introduce new characters and new scenes that better explained th plot, provided more dramatic troubles for the characters, and hopefully hightened the tension. These scenes were written out of sequence, but I know roughly where they would be insterted.

Then after reading chapter 3 to my writers’ group the feedback came back that this should be chapter 1 and I agreed, so sequences were changed, events were changed so cause and effect would have the proper relationship to the events.

Now it is time to assemble the manuscript and I’ve had a thought and for the life of me I cannot determine if it is a good idea or not.

Love and Loylaty is primary the story of two people, Seth Jackson and the woman he loves Minou Shippen. The story alternates between their two plotlines until their lives intersect again and from there the story is the tangle of duties, loves, and betrayal that push these characters into conflict.

So the manscript went like this, a Seth chapter, then a Minou Chpater, back to Seth, back to Minou etc until they met and then it’s a combination from there on out.

The idea that occured to me is a book format. Book 1, Seth Jackson, all the events in his life until he runs into Minou again at Earth. Then Book 2, flashback and we see Minou’s life until she runs into Seth. Then Book 3, their combined story and conflicts until resolution.

I have no idea which way is better….