I’ll admit it, querying a novel is a difficult path to tread. It’s not because of the possible rejections or so much the waiting for a response, but due to the fact that I’m left with a feeling of incompletion. In my mind, Awakening won’t feel complete until it’s printed and physically in readers’ hands. I want to have the satisfaction of ticking off that box, and the idea that it could take a long while to do so breaks my brain. I’m the type of person that gains satisfaction through the completion of a project. Don’t get me wrong, I love the planning and the implementation of those plans, but nothing compares to sitting back with a nice, smooth Guinness after a hard day’s work and seeing what those plans brought to life. If I start reading the first book from a particular series, I’ll be finishing that whole series before I pick up a new one (unless the first book is a dud). Same goes with TV shows. If I start a garden project, all other projects stop to get that garden project done. I always feel the need to complete a task before starting a new one.

All that to say, that same mindset ties in with my writing, and now I find myself challenged by the idea of moving on with Alignment, when Awakening is still in limbo. This hit me hard yesterday when I sat down and prepared to continue writing Alignment’s first draft. I had to convince my brain that there is nothing more I can do for Awakening other than wait on query responses to come in. Once I accepted that fact, the words began flowing and, gracious-me-alive, it was so much fun!

The chapter I’m currently working on has a character who holds a vast knowledge of stories and histories from the world I’ve created, and in the particular scene I was writing, this character recalls one of those stories. Have you ever read a book that has a story within a story? Depending on how they’re written, they can be either annoying or entertaining. Annoying, because there’s so much detail, as a reader, you’re taken out of the story you’re already invested in. Entertaining, when there’s just enough detail, it enhances the story you’re already invested in.

Since I have read bad versions of a story within a story before, I found the challenge to make mine an entertaining one thrilling. My goal was to make sure it didn’t grow too lengthy while keeping the reader embedded in the main story. I did this by having the characters readers are already invested in be the storyteller and listeners. In other words, the reader is experiencing the story through the eyes of the characters. The total word count for my story within a story came to around one thousand words, which I think works in this particular setting, as there’s a lot more that will be happening in the chapter, and I need the room to make it happen.

After a read-through with my younglings, I got their excited approval, so I think my first story within a story was a success. That’s a good thing, as this particular character telling the story will need to continue doing so here and there in order to bring about certain events important to the plot development. The extra fun bit from my end, however, was constructing the actual story within a story. A couple years back, I’d had this idea of a unique race of beings that could exist on my world and had jotted down pages and pages of my many ponderings about it. I had originally intended the idea to be a possible spin-off series or at the very least, a standalone novel with ties to TSKC. Inserting the idea as a story within a story in Alignment introduces that race in a way that leaves them a bit mysterious, but gets the reader used to the idea that they may actually exist on my world and jumpstart their curiosity to know more.

Any other writers out there try their hand at constructing a story within a story? Did you find it challenging? How about you, readers? What are the best/ worst examples you’ve come across?