Nathan Scalia's picture
Nathan Scalia from Kansas is reading so many things September 18, 2013 - 10:59am

So I'm looking for some examples. My YA horror?/fantasy?/whatever book I've been picking at for a while has evolved to include a story within a story. Basically, a boy reads a book his grandfather secretly wrote about his youth and realizes the story might not be fiction. I have a whole life of the grandfather I want to explore while being free to return to the present and follow what the grandson is doing.

This is fairly easy to pull off in visual media, but I'm having some issues writing these parallel stories. I want to avoid anything gimmicky if I can. I'm especially looking for examples written for younger (grade-school) audiences, so nothing that requires a literature degree to decipher.

Does this technique ring any bells that might be helpful for me to reference? Any help is much appreciated.

Tim Johnson's picture
Tim Johnson from Rockville, MD is reading Notes From a Necrophobe by T.C. Armstrong September 18, 2013 - 11:10am

The most recent example of story-within-a-story that I've read is The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King, part of his Dark Tower series. It's a fable framed in The Dark Tower. Wizard and Glass (book 4) is also a story within a story, but it's more dark fantasy than YA.

Both are structured the same:

Part 1 - Begin the main story

Part 2 - Tell the complete story within

Part 3 - Finish the main story

Each section has a hard stop, so there's nothing fancy. Seems like a logical way to approach it. I know this isn't particularly helpful if you haven't read The Dark Tower, but you could read The Wind Through the Keyhole without feeling too lost. The fable Roland tells (as the story within) is actually really good.

Bradley Sands's picture
Bradley Sands from Boston is reading Greil Marcus's The History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten Songs September 18, 2013 - 2:27pm

The Way Through Doors

Haunted (but the framing device story kind of sucks)

Mess_Jess's picture
Mess_Jess from Sydney, Australia, living in Toronto, Canada is reading Perfect by Rachael Joyce September 19, 2013 - 9:49pm

Margaret Atwood's the Blind Asssasin.

William Goldman's The Princess Bride. 

Mike Revell's picture
Mike Revell from Cambridge is reading The Knife of Never Letting Go September 20, 2013 - 2:38am

Have you read A Monster Calls?

It is many stories within a story, with a dream that may very well be more than a dream arcing over the whole thing.

Nathan Scalia's picture
Nathan Scalia from Kansas is reading so many things September 20, 2013 - 5:12am

I heart you guys. Thank you for the examples, I will check them out.

Bradley Sands's picture
Bradley Sands from Boston is reading Greil Marcus's The History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten Songs September 20, 2013 - 2:36pm

The Neverending Story

JEFFREY GRANT BARR's picture
JEFFREY GRANT BARR from Central OR is reading Nothing but fucking Shakespeare, for the rest of my life September 20, 2013 - 4:19pm

One my my favorites (maybe it doesn't qualify since it's not a 'complete' story) is the Misery Chastain stories from Stephen King's MISERY. What's especially cool is that it includes multiple drafts of the story. Neat-o keen-o.

Dave's picture
Dave from a city near you is reading constantly September 23, 2013 - 10:43pm

The first thing I thought of was Big Fish, but I've only seen the movie, I don't know how the book reads.

voodoo_em's picture
voodoo_em from England is reading All the books by Ira Levin September 24, 2013 - 1:59am

Dancing Jax by Robin Jarvis & it's sequel Freax and Rejex.

Maybe the right target age you were going for?

Nathan Scalia's picture
Nathan Scalia from Kansas is reading so many things September 24, 2013 - 10:26am

Hey Emily, that might just be what I'm looking for as far as audience.

voodoo_em's picture
voodoo_em from England is reading All the books by Ira Levin September 25, 2013 - 1:28am

No problem :) He's my favorite childhood author, been reading his stuff since I was ten. He always delivers on the horror and the twists (as much as you can in YA books)

Thuggish's picture
Thuggish from Vegas is reading Day of the Jackal October 19, 2013 - 1:38pm

The only two I can think of are Hamlet, (where your high school English teacher beats you to death with the concept of "a play within a play" ... WE GET IT!), and The Count of Monte Cristo.  Monte Cristo is almost like a series of short (ish) stories about all sorts of things, characters are constantly showing up to tell stories within the story...  There's so much, I have yet to finish it.  Great to read to get to sleep though.

But I don't think those two work for grade school, sorry.