Masterclass
Mastering the ABAB Format: Weaving Parallel Storylines
Registration has now closed
📚 Overview
Alternating storylines can be one of the most powerful structural tools in writing — as brilliantly seen in The Da Vinci Code, Gone Girl, and The Lost City of Z. This masterclass demystifies the ABAB format, showing you how to design, balance, and interlace two distinct narratives so that each heightens the tension and meaning of the other.
We’ll look at pacing, cliffhangers, and thematic symmetry, exploring when to switch perspectives and how to bring the threads together in a satisfying convergence.
Schedule
15:00 - 16:00 EST
Mastering the ABAB Format: Weaving Parallel Storylines
In this Monday Masterclass, you will learn:
- How to plan and outline dual or alternating narratives
- Strategies for maintaining tension and momentum across storylines
- Techniques for creating emotional or thematic resonance between A and B
- The do’s and don’ts of merging threads at the climax
Following the presentation, there will be a live Q&A with Noah where you can ask him questions about writing multiple POVs and any other craft questions you have.
Speakers
Dr Noah Charney
Author and Ghostwriter
Dr Noah Charney is the best-selling author of more than 30 of his own books, including a Pulitzer finalist. His latest book is The 12-Hour Author: Everything You Need to Know to Get Published and Become a Successful Writer (Bloomsbury). A professor of art history, he teaches online for the Smithsonian, the National Gallery (UK), and Yale. Noah has ghostwritten and edited books for Reedsy clients.
