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Nonlinear Storytelling
- Mahima Begum
- 16 minutes ago
- 4 min read
In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Link wakes up entombed and suffering from amnesia. At the heart of his lost memories is Zelda, but—what is his connection to her? Why is that name… familiar?
As the game unfolds, you are prompted to fight, explore, and, most pertinently: recall the past through Zelda's scattered memories. The game's open design allows you to experience them in any order, emulating Link's recollection without dissolving the story.
And there lies the core of nonlinear storytelling: the idea that a narrative can be rearranged without losing its ability to convey meaning. The mechanic of Zelda's memories allows you to explore Link and Zelda's relationship in a way that defies chronology. Instead, what glues these disjointed fragments together are the emotions and lore they carry between them, involving the player in the creation of meaning.
This concept is not unique to Breath of the Wild, either.
The film Memento is composed of two distinct, interwoven sequences, sustaining an achronological narrative until the film's conclusion. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, the seemingly linear tale is broken and fragmented by the nature of time travel and multiple choice.
A departure from linear sequencing allows for those jumbled vignettes to reflect upon each other. Like human memories, those scenes recolour and recontextualise one another, coming together to create a whole new way to experience the text.
Nonlinear Storytelling in Writing
Nonlinear storytelling
/nɒnˈlɪnɪə ˈstɔːrɪˌtɛlɪŋ/
a narrative technique wherein the logical order of events is rearranged or disrupted, preventing the story from progressing in a straight line.
In essence, the function of nonlinear storytelling is to disorder a narrative, whether it's to emulate the perspective of a character, subvert textual expectations, or to create dramatic tension. By nullifying the effect of chronology, readers are forced to rely on other thematic clues, such as settings, emotions, and events in order to piece together the full story.
This involves the reader in the story's meaning creation: the process of decoding, understanding, and internalising the story. A nonlinear text falls back on its ability to convey a coherent tale without the scaffolding of cause-and-effect and chain-linked, chronological events.
Thus, the heart of a nonlinear narrative lies in its strong foundation. Meaningful character development, defined story arcs, and the positioning of relevant clues and information. These factors form the base for your narrative, forging crucial connections between scenes and events in lieu of chronological progression, drawing the boundary between a confusing maze and a purposeful nonlinear story.
Crafting a Nonlinear Narrative
Formulating a nonlinear narrative isn't as simple as writing a chronological story and jumbling up the order. Like with everything, it requires intent, strategy, and consideration. Does this scene belong here, what are the consequences of revealing other information too early by positioning this scene here?
How does this affect the story as a whole?
The creation of a nonlinear narrative begins with an engagement with time. Writers employ flashbacks, flashforwards, backstory, multiple timelines, concurrent plots, and frame narratives—each with their own advantages and drawbacks—in order to manipulate the story's flow.
Flashbacks can be a crutch tool in many writers' kits. Used primarily to insert necessary backstory or plug plot holes, they are great for exposition and comparing past and present events, but are hard to integrate seamlessly and can take over a story if not used judiciously. See: Never Let Me Go (2005), Titanic (1997).
Flashforwards are a rarer occurrence: "little did they know" moments slipped into the narrative. Otherwise, they might find their place in time travel fiction, prophesying a legendary utopia or world-ending apocalypse. They can be great for alternate realities and cause-and-effect scenarios but may also spoil future events and nullify suspense. See: The Umbrella Academy (2019), The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1993).
Multiple timelines are a way of dealing with stories that span extended time frames, even entire generations. They're also a useful structural tool, set apart by chapter or changing perspective. Often, they're used to pose a link between past and present, such as an unsolved crime, or generational trauma. See: The Cousins (2020), Corpse Party (2008).
Concurrent plots are partial or self-sustained storylines which run parallel to one another within a text. Generally used to introduce multiple times, realities, and perspectives, they can be used as a point of comparison and contrast. Consider: what makes this plot distinct, how does it link to the other, and what does it add to the story? See: Finding Nemo (2003), The Silent Patient (2019).
Finally, a frame narrative refers to an embedded story; a 'tale within a tale', where the narrative weaves between perspectives and universes in order to impart key motifs and parallels to the main text. Done well, this can enhance the primary story, introducing nuance and interpretation; however, it can also result in a labyrinthine narrative that is hard to follow. See: Frankenstein (1818), Holes (1998).
This list isn't exhaustive, nor is it a checklist (despite the bullet points). As always, it's about piecing together the right techniques for your story: will they view it as a broken pieces in their hands or a puzzle they can't wait to assemble?
Through any medium—novel, video game, film, etc—a nonlinear narrative is 'like fragments of a mirror, each reflecting a different part of the whole picture.' (Famous Writing Routines).
To craft a nonlinear story is to know your story and to trust in your abilities as a writer to provide the right information at the right time, even though it's unexpected: to sew a narrative from scraps and feelings, and solder those shattered pieces with a mixture of passion and fate.
For further reading, check out these great resources: https://famouswritingroutines.com/writing-tips/exploring-non-linear-narratives-in-modern-storytelling
About the author: I'm an English Literature and Creative Writing student at the University of Surrey. My favourite genres are contemporary YA romance, thriller, horror, and mystery, and I'm a big fan of experimental writing!
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