"The Beginning"...

[BedtimeStories77]

In a trilogy, or even a two-part series only, is it common for the last installment to travel back to the "beginning" of a tale to give a reader the background history? If not "common", is it acceptable? In a three-part tale, would it ever be the second installment that gives the history and then the third finishes things off?

Personally, I don't like a tale (even in movie story lines) that goes 100% in chronological order. Example would be the movie Batman Begins. I liked it. (Maybe more so because I thought the older Batman movies and the 60s TV show were cheasy? lol) But, what (little) I knew of Batman's "tale" really fell into place learning the "beginning" in that movie.

So, I'm just trying to figure out what may be considered "standard practice" when going back to tell the beginning of a tale at a later date.

 

[3113]

In a trilogy, or even a two-part series only, is it common for the last installment to travel back to the "beginning" of a tale to give a reader the background history? If not "common", is it acceptable? In a three-part tale, would it ever be the second installment that gives the history and then the third finishes things off?

It's not what you do but how you do it. You can start with "I was born" and go from there, or you can start the story in the middle of things (recommended) and then flash back. If most of the story is flashback, you can even have it be long and involving. BUT if most of the story is not flashback (as with Batman) then it's important to keep things short, succient and interesting.

Batman works because his reason for becoming Batman is fairly simple. It can be presented quickly and powerfully without taking much time out from the main story.

 

[Stella_Omega]

In a trilogy, or even a two-part series only, is it common for the last installment to travel back to the "beginning" of a tale to give a reader the background history? If not "common", is it acceptable? In a three-part tale, would it ever be the second installment that gives the history and then the third finishes things off?

Personally, I don't like a tale (even in movie story lines) that goes 100% in chronological order. Example would be the movie Batman Begins. I liked it. (Maybe more so because I thought the older Batman movies and the 60s TV show were cheasy? lol) But, what (little) I knew of Batman's "tale" really fell into place learning the "beginning" in that movie.

So, I'm just trying to figure out what may be considered "standard practice" when going back to tell the beginning of a tale at a later date.

Non-linear is a very successful way to tell a story, IMO. There is no real "Standard Practice" to worry about.

 

[BedtimeStories77]

That's one reason I put "standard practice" in quotes... lol I figured there wasn't, for the most part...just needed a way to word what I wanted to say. Thank you, both, for replying!

 

[Weird Harold]

In a trilogy, or even a two-part series only, is it common for the last installment to travel back to the "beginning" of a tale to give a reader the background history? If not "common", is it acceptable? In a three-part tale, would it ever be the second installment that gives the history and then the third finishes things off?

If you mean a recap of the previous installments, I realy only see it in series with a long gap between installments. Most series and trilogies I see are written as if they were a single coherent story to be read consecutively; i.e. withabout the same amount of recapping between books as between chapters.

I very seldom see only one installment use flashbacks to tell a backstory -- either all installments use flashbacks to fill in the backstory or none of them use flashbacks. When I do see only a single installment, use flashbacks it's usually the first installment.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I'm working on something that will be all over the place. We're going to see the story for a bit from one point of view that will make them seem like the good guy, until the other point of view is shown a little later, and back and forth, lettting the reader know about half to three quarters of the way through just how much of a son-of-a-bitch asshole the main character really is, until everyone is routing for his demise.

That story will be quite non-linear when I get around tow riting it down.