Adelaide's Weird Experiment

*Warning! This post is very spoiler-y. If you haven't read books 1 & 2 of my Whitewashed trilogy, you're gonna be supa confused, and you'll ruin the series for yourself, soooo... don't proceed. Stop reading. Now. K bye.*​

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you saw Star Wars in chronological order? Would the plot make sense, or is part of Lucas' genius that they must be watched 4-6, then 1-3? Like most millennials, I grew up watching the films in release order. I can remember seeing Phantom Menace and geeking out over the cherubic Anakin. "This kid's gonna grow up to be Darth Vader!" That foreknowledge is both a blessing and a curse. Because of it, I caught all the Easter eggs. And because of it, Anakin's downward spiral seemed contrived and disjointed. Lucas knew Anakin would turn, and that knowledge congested Anakin's character arc, painting him as an unlikeable creep before he'd killed any younglings. 

Lest this post turn into a rant about Anakin and his feelings on sand, I'll shift gears back to my trilogy. 

When I first came up with the plot for my series, I always intended to write the books in chronological order. It was my then-boyfriend, now-husband who suggested I tackle the first two books in reverse. "It would be really boring for the reader to know more than Ella does in Book #1," he said. "You should start the story after Ella's memory is wiped, that way the reader discovers the truth alongside her." Book #2 would really be the beginning, and Book #1 would be the aftermath.

That idea intrigued me. Imagine how many Easter eggs I could pile into Book 1! Imagine the delight of writing *this* scene, knowing it won't make any sense until Book 2! It'd be my own private joke that readers could appreciate later. And so, when I started writing The Trace in Astronomy class freshman year of college (correct, I was definitely not paying attention), I began Ella's story post-memory wipe. The first sentence - which has since been rewritten - read, for many drafts, "The first thing that hit me was the smell." Even THAT was an Easter egg! Why did the smell of her own home strike her as unique? Because she hadn't smelled it in over a year!

Quite a few years (and drafts) later, the full story is out there. Readers can walk through Ella's confusion in The Trace, then have all their lingering questions answered in The Integer when they learn about her past. "Ahh, she'd met all these cadets before! Ooooh, she didn't spontaneously become athletic. Eeeep, so THIS is why Chron acts like he knows her!" I love hearing my readers exclaim, shout, and gasp as Ella's story slides into place, but part of me always wondered (a very dangerous business, wondering is): What would happen if someone read the books chronologically?

- Would the story make sense?
- Would The Trace be boring because readers would know more than Ella does?
- Can The Integer actually work as an introductory novel to a series?
- Is it possible for my series to flow the way I want it to in reverse?

Of course, the only way to have these questions answered was by asking someone who's read the books chronologically. But who would ever think to do that? No one, because readers are intelligent creatures. If I wanted to get my answers, I'd have to find readers who knew nothing of the plot, then hand them my books - and some instructions - and let them have at it. 

​So that's what I did.

I shared my idea on Instagram expecting to get a few bites. When readers came out of the woodwork to ask more about this "weird" reading experiment, I realized I should preface every Instagram post with vague intrigue and mystery if I want to get any attention. (Just kidding. Sort of.) In fact, so many readers were curious that I decided to expand my reading pool from one to three. Then, because that didn't feel very satisfying, I opened the experiment up to any reader. Three readers received the print books, while the rest were emailed eBooks. Configuring the reading outline for the print books was doable, albeit time-consuming. Figuring out how to control the eBook trajectory was a whole other monster. Here's why. 

The last chapter of Book #1 works as the first chapter of #2 - BUT, the prologue of #2 comes before the last chapter of #1. Readers had to go from #2 prologue to #1 final chapter; then, #2 Part I, followed by ALL of #1, and then back to #2 with Part II.

Confusing, right?

Yes. Yes it is. I got very mixed-up while planning this and had to ask myself a dozen times whether I was sure I'd gotten my own dang timeline correctly.

Anyway, by some miracle, my guinea pigs managed to follow along, though I did get lots of "Wait, so I do it THIS way, right?" messages. I sincerely applaud every eBook reader for having the patience to keep up! If someone asked me to jump from book to book on my Kindle, I'd be like, "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. No thanks."

Now, you probably want me to get to the point. How did it go? Were readers able to keep up with the plot? The answer to that was a shocking, resounding YES. The books work in reverse order! I'm as amazed as you are.

To streamline the results in a readable way, I'll do a list of pros and cons. There was a general consensus to this, though a few readers felt differently.

PROS:

• Apparently Ethan Sheedy is the best thing since sliced bread. Every single reader commented on him. They loved knowing the #2 backstory while reading #1. This warmed my little heart, since I do think Ethan's personality isn't quite appreciated in a first read of #1. Only once you've read #2 do his Ethanisms in #1 make sense. Much of his struggle in #1 gets lost on the first-time reader.
• Some readers really liked having all the information from #2 during their read of #1 in regard to the overarching plot. Things that are vague and uncertain in #1 (Grifters, Jimmy Daniels, Lydia Burnette's attitude, the way Sanders treats Ella) make much more sense if a reader has the background knowledge from #2.
• A weird pro (that's also kinda a "con" for the actual, published order of the books) is some readers think they'd actually dislike #1 had they read it first! They enjoyed knowing Ella's backstory so much that they think NOT knowing would be too annoying. I guess we'll never know how they'd respond had they read the books in the published order. If only memory-wiping were possible...

CONS:

• Some readers (wait for it) couldn't stand Ella in #1.
• Some readers (wait even longer) didn't even want to finish #1. Because they were familiar with #2 Ella, jumping backward/forward to #1 Ella really threw them, particularly because Ella struggles with anger + guilt for much of #1. In #2, her emotional journey is less abrasive. Readers were used to her calmer, milder personality, and found her annoying in #1. 
• The readers who didn't enjoy knowing more than Ella does in #1 found her cluelessness frustrating. The beginning of #1 deals with Ella sudden physical prowess, but for those who'd read #2 and understood the origins, there was a bit of "Ughhhh, just ACCEPT it already!"
• My writing style is obviously better in #2, which meant reading #1 next was a bit of a literary retrograde. 
• A few hinted-at "This is what's coming next" plot points in #2 didn't meet some readers' expectations in #1. Had they read the books in published order, they probably would've forgotten how satisfying/unsatisfying those points developed in #1. But, since they approached the story in reverse, they expected more than they got in #1.
  • Jimmy Daniels/Banks, for instance. At the end of #2, we learn that he's going to befriend Ella at her high school and introduce her to the symbol & Society. However, none of that unfolds in #1, because Grifters are stalking Ella and the MTA whisks her away to safety. Jimmy is briefly introduced at the beginning of #1, and not seen again until the end, when Ella reads Durgan's memory and realizes Jimmy is part of the MTA. For readers expecting Jimmy to be a major part of #1, the letdown was annoying.

In conclusion, every reader at least enjoyed the series, and most would agree that #2, The Integer, is their preferred book. I'd have to agree. The Integer not only goes far more in-depth with the characters--it's also my second stab at a book, which means my writing is stronger. If I follow the same trajectory, Book #3 will be the best! 

Overall, I'm happy with how this turned out. My hypothesis was that readers would feel disconnected from #2, having not read #1 first, but no one complained of this. I also suspected #1 would drag, and while the beginning did for some readers, most appreciated knowing more than Ella. My Easter eggs in #1 were noticed, and the side characters (Ethan, the cadets, One) were viewed in entirely different lights. 

This being said, I stand by my decision to write the books in the order I did. Following Ella's emotional journey properly is crucial to understanding her character arcs, and the shock factor is entirely lost when the reader knows 1) Ella's memory was wiped; 2) Grifters aren't evil; 3) Sanders/Leader/Eugene Andrews is the real villain; 4) One is an individual Tacemus; 5) the reason behind the cadets' behaviors; and much more. While it's cool to know Ella's backstory before she does, that perspective does ruin what I wanted to do with this trilogy.

To all my readers: thank you so much for sticking through this convoluted experiment. Your feedback was enormously helpful in scratching that curious itch. Now I can rest assured knowing that, somewhere out there, people actually know how my story works in a chronological order. It was a weird itch to have, but authors are allowed to be weird. (We are. Don't argue.)

P.S.​ In case you thought I was lying about everyone commenting on Ethan, I present this reader feedback:

• ​"I just want a whole lot more Ella And Ethan time! Also whoever hashtagged #ethella is genius."
• "I only ask one thing for book 3, please don’t kill Ella or Ethan."
• "It also made me like Ethan even more because reading book 1 after book 2 just proved how awesome of a guy he is..."
• "I was SO sad for Ethan. </3"
• "Ethan really stole the show for me." 
• "Ethan is just that more amazing!"
• "I [...] really like Ethan (have I mentioned that he’s a great guy....)"
• "Concerning Ethan and Ella getting a happy ending?! *panics* Should I send you some chocolate just for precautions?"
• "This one is just for my personal knowledge, lol, but was it Ethan on the bike watching Ella at the start of Trace?" [answer: nope, that was Banks/Jimmy. I think I told this reader it was someone else, but I remembered later who it ACTUALLY was. See? Even authors forget their plots.]
• "This story has one of the best love interests ever- Ethan, the patient of all men."

You heard it from them first. Read my books, because Ethan is amazing.