Structure in Sublimation

All---

I've talked several times on the blog about I structure with structure, and we even talked about spiral structures for a while.  It this point, as I grind through finishing the connecting-the-dots chapters in Sublimation, the structure is pretty much set, barring word from someone wiser than me that, in the end, it doesn't work.  I'm pretty confident, after one major tweak to clarify some things, that I have the structure that is best for the novel.

Without giving too much away, I thought it might interest you, since you've call helped me though some tough moments in this weak aspect of mine, I thought I might describe for the structure of Sublimation as it now stands:

First, the book is in three parts.  That's mildly ironic but I don't really get the normal three-act structure; it doesn't click with me in any meaningful way.  In this case, though, three acts are for my own Hegelian purposes.  (If you wonder what that means, side-step over to pick up some Nevetsosophy.)

Second, in case you don't already know the story is told through two distinct first person POV's -- one, Mr. Alec Smith, a business man who cons his way to victory in every situation, and the other, Mrs. Grey Kinjou, a ex-cop who values the Law above all else and has no time for people who play in the shadows.  The odd number chapters all belong to Smith and the even to Kinjou.

So the super-structure of the novel is something like a building made of two towers, each of which has three levels.

The apparently primary story line happens in a very linear way, each each of the POV's moving forward.  There are a few places where they are not in perfect sync with one another, but each POV at least moves straight forward.

Except that each POV also has another story-line inside it.   Those two story lines, which are not exactly flashbacks even though I myself sometimes even get lazy and call them that, are scenes from earlier in each POV's life.  They're not linear.  They jump around, appearing to follow character development arcs more than plot development.

Appearances, of course, can be deceiving.

In truth, it's all one big narrative with frayed edges that curl back on itself.

Sound like fun?

I think so!

What kind of structures are you playing with in whatever you're writing right now?

.Nevets.