Epistolary Style

[AngelaShivadikar]

I am new here and I was wondering what people think about writing stories in epistolary style? Thanks.

 

[AlexAtNight]

I mean... i suppose it would depend on who the epistle is to and from? I can see it working for some genres but not others. Like a confession type story, or asking for advice?

 

[Britva415]

The popularity of Penthouse Letters says it's good

 

[AngelaShivadikar]

I was thinking of a sexy WhatsApp or text message exchange as opposed to letters in the post. That way it’s immediate and could build to a crescendo. Weren’t Penthouse Letters “write-in-and-confess” stories - as opposed to a dialogue or discourse?

 

[AlexAtNight]

My problem with stories as text chains is they tend to get written in text speak and thst does basically nothing for me

 

[StillStunned]

If you want to talk about writing, you're probably better off in the Authors' Hangout.

 

[StillStunned]

Speaking for myself, an epistolary story is an ambition of mine. I love the idea of all these private exchanges of thoughts and gossip, and the opportunity for two-faced hypocrisy and backstabbing, with only the reader seeing the whole picture unfold.

It could work in a WhatsApp style setup, with the added benefit of forming groups. But it brings its own challenges. Unless you're writing just a back-and-forth between two characters, you'd need some way to make it very clear to the reader which conversation is going on, and who's part of it. It could easily become very tiring for the reader as well, and I think there's a risk of overindulging in the dialogue or else making it almost a facts-only narrative.

If you want to keep it short, and with just two speakers, you might do worse than formatting it with one speaker on the left, the other on the right, and submitting it as poetry rather than a story.