Anyone here ever written an "ambiquel"?

[GrushaVashnadze]

... that is, a combination between a prequel and a sequel. I will shortly be starting to post a five-act "ambiquel" to my novel Alison Goes to London. The original novel is set in 2050. The ambiquel moves back and forth between the 2030s and 2060 - framing the life-story of a couple of the original story's main secondary characters. Writing the timeline, incorporating flashbacks and memories, has been challenging, but immensely satisfying.

Has anyone here ever attempted anything similar?

 

[MrPixel]

A fun invented word, but somebody nearly beat you to it. It’s a veterinary medication. You have to be careful with made-up words these days - there are veritable armies of marketeers and lawyers employed by pharmaceutical companies whose sole task is to contrive medication names.

If you did a search on the word you would have discovered it immediately.

 

[Trionyx]

Presequel? But this would mean the main body of work. (The thing immediately before the sequel.)
Sprequel? In the wrong order.
Muddlequel?
Doublequel?

 

[UnquietDreams]

A fun invented word, but somebody nearly beat you to it. It’s a veterinary medication. You have to be careful with made-up words these days - there are veritable armies of marketeers and lawyers employed by pharmaceutical companies whose sole task is to contrive medication names.

If you did a search on the word you would have discovered it immediately.

The vetrinary medicing is Apoquel, not ambiquel. Just saying.

 

[UnquietDreams]

I like the idea. The Godfather II has a similar structure, with both prequel and sequel elements in turn.

 

[MrPixel]

The vetrinary medicing is Apoquel, not ambiquel. Just saying.

Picky picky picky. It struck me as too similar to let it pass.

 

[CyranoJ]

... that is, a combination between a prequel and a sequel. I will shortly be starting to post a five-act "ambiquel" to my novel Alison Goes to London. The original novel is set in 2050. The ambiquel moves back and forth between the 2030s and 2060 - framing the life-story of a couple of the original story's main secondary characters. Writing the timeline, incorporating flashbacks and memories, has been challenging, but immensely satisfying.

Has anyone here ever attempted anything similar?

I haven't, nor have I written anything that I'd be specifically tempted to do it for, but it's an idea that intrigues me. A much steeper difficulty curve than just writing a prequel, which is hard enough to stick the landing on (as the past couple of decades of prequel-obsessed media tend to demonstrate). The gold standard is The Godfather II, which is precisely this concept, telling the early story of Vito Corleone and the later story of Michael Corleone in parallel and doing superb justice to both.

 

[AchtungNight]

Ruleskirter is like this, showing the past and future of my recurring male main character Doug Ramsay and introducing his soulmate Lisa in her first onscreen appearance.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Never attempted it. I have enjoyed parallel works by other authors outside of Lit, some of which extend the timelines in either one direction or both, using by shifting the POV to a minor character in the original works.

 

[RetroFan]

I've never heard of an ambiquel before. I've heard of an interquel before - like Star Wars movie 'Rogue One' - but never an ambiquel. It sounds an interesting idea.

 

[Stimtheone]

Well, technically, the series I am about to conclude, Rise of the Star, is both a sequel to another series, James's Descent, and I will paint in the epilogue how it's a prequel to Deviant Empire.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I have not.

 

[GrushaVashnadze]

Thank you, all of you - especially @MrPixel, @Trionyx, @UnquietDreams, @CyranoJ, @Stimtheone & @RetroFan - for your advice. Just to let you know that Act One of my ambiquel, Young Cunts, is now up on Lit: four more acts to follow - which will make it a positively Shakespeherian rag: "so elegant, so intelligent"; try it and you'll see. The problem with a "quel" of any sort, or course, is that those who have not yet read the original are less likely to read the "quel" than those who have. My hope is that perhaps by dipping their toe (or any other appendage) into Young Cunts (which, you must admit, does sound tempting...), some readers may be tempted to go back and read the original novel, Alison Goes to London, which is where "Cunts" (a.k.a. Professor Emma Jane Cuntslicker of the Royal Academy of Fucking, London) makes her first appearance. (If any of you do read either or both of the above, please send me some feedback: this has been a very challenging story to write, and I am sure that some of you may have some good constructive criticism to give.)

Some individual responses below:

A fun invented word, but somebody nearly beat you to it. It’s a veterinary medication.

Both my ambiquel and, apparently, Apoquel, are good for the relief of itches (of differing species, naturellement). Mine's also chewable.

I like the idea. The Godfather II has a similar structure, with both prequel and sequel elements in turn.

The gold standard is The Godfather II, which is precisely this concept

Clearly I need to go and watch The Godfather II. Thanks for the recommendation, both of you.

I've never heard of an ambiquel before. I've heard of an interquel before - like Star Wars movie 'Rogue One' - but never an ambiquel. It sounds an interesting idea.

Well, technically, the series I am about to conclude, Rise of the Star, is both a sequel to another series, James's Descent, and I will paint in the epilogue how it's a prequel to Deviant Empire.

Interesting. My first Alison Goes to London sequel, Claire's Cunt Kitchen, has, I suppose, by dint of publication of this ambiquel, now become an interquel! Very complicated.

Presequel? But this would mean the main body of work. (The thing immediately before the sequel.)
Sprequel? In the wrong order.
Muddlequel?
Doublequel?

Mine's definitely a cuntquel...

 

[jhealy55]

I try to pull in memories or hints at their effect in my stories to add depth to why the characters are acting as they do in the present setting of the story. If its a longer work, I also want to foreshadow or set the table for how the future is likely to turn out, but have never tried something as explicit as you describe.

That said, loved the effect in Godfather II as someone else has noted and thought the use of flashbacks was done brilliantly in season one of True Detective.