--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The experimental version of this story…" description: "\"“The experimental version of this story could actually be told as two stories happening “simultaneously,” each narrated in alternating sections which t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/thomas-ligotti-2073_story-actually_the-experimental-version-of-this-story-c_2582351.png" --- # The experimental version of this story could actually be… ![“The experimental version of this story could actually be told as two stories happening “simultaneously,” each narrated in alternating sections which take place in parallel chronologies. One section begins with the death of Nathan and moves backward in time, while its counterpart story begins with…” quote by Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/thomas-ligotti-2073_story-actually_the-experimental-version-of-this-story-c_2582351.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/thomas-ligotti-2073_story-actually_the-experimental-version-of-this-story-c_2582351.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/thomas-ligotti-2073_story-actually_the-experimental-version-of-this-story-c_2582351.png) > ““The experimental version of this story could actually be told as two stories happening “simultaneously,” each narrated in alternating sections which take place in parallel chronologies. One section begins with the death of Nathan and moves backward in time, while its counterpart story begins with the death of the original owner of the magical pants and moves forward. Needless to say, the facts in the case of Nathan must be juggled around so as to be comprehensible from the beginning, that is to say from the end.”” [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrative can be split into two parallel storylines that move in opposite directions, requiring careful arrangement to keep the overall plot understandable. **In simple terms:** Two opposite timelines need careful structuring. Key Takeaway Design stories with clear markers for each timeline. Themes narrative structure dual timelines complex storytelling Mood intriguing challenging Type analytical creative When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - interactive fiction - teaching narrative techniques Key Concepts postmodernism temporal manipulation Questions to Reflect On - How can you signal timeline shifts without breaking immersion? - What cues help readers track parallel plots? A Different Perspective Balancing two opposing arcs can confuse readers if not clearly signposted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Counterpart Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counterpart-story-1788934/) [Death Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-nathan-1788936/) [Story Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-actually-823671/) [Time Counterpart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-counterpart-1788937/) [Version Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/version-story-1788935/) ## Related quotes > [“Everyone’s got a version of the same story, or maybe there’s no such thing as the same story; it’s a different story every time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-tei-yamashita/everyone-s-got-a-version-of-the-same-story-or-maybe-there-s-no-such/) [Karen Tei Yamashita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-tei-yamashita/) > [“there is a French version of the story, and a true one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-clarke/there-is-a-french-version-of-the-story-and-a-true-one/) [Stephen Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-clarke/) > [“Every picture tells a story. But sometimes it's hard to know what story is actually being told.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-hollings/every-picture-tells-a-story-but-sometimes-it-s-hard-to-know-what/) [Anastasia Hollings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastasia-hollings/) > ['Love Story' is actually about a guy that I almost dated. But when I introduced him to my family and my friends, they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/love-story-is-actually-about-a-guy-that-i-almost-dated-but-when-i/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I like it when somebody tells me a story, and I actually really feel that that's becoming like a lost art in American cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/i-like-it-when-somebody-tells-me-a-story-and-i-actually-really-feel/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [The real story of Facebook is just that we've worked so hard for all this time. I mean, the real story is actually probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/the-real-story-of-facebook-is-just-that-we-ve-worked-so-hard-for-all/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [I just think people have a lot of fiction. But, you know, I mean, the real story of Facebook is just that we've worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/i-just-think-people-have-a-lot-of-fiction-but-you-know-i-mean-the/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [“Can a story be good only if it produces an effect? If the effect is a bad one, but intended, has the story done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brock-clarke/can-a-story-be-good-only-if-it-produces-an-effect-if-the-effect-is-a/) [Brock Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brock-clarke/) > [The big issue was cutting. I finally cut as much as I could, about a fourth of the story, and actually liked it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zz-packer-64818/the-big-issue-was-cutting-i-finally-cut-as-much-as-i-could-about-a/) [ZZ Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zz-packer-64818/) > [Every writer knows a lot more about their characters and story than actually makes it onto the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-their-characters-and-story-than/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## More by Thomas Ligotti > [“Subsequently there ensues an epoch of complex, proliferating intrigues and conspiracies among the ranks of double agents, whose agendas become so densely intertwined that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/subsequently-there-ensues-an-epoch-of-complex-proliferating-intrigues/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“The point that in the absence of birth nobody exists who can be deprived of happiness is terribly conspicuous. For optimists, this fact plays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-point-that-in-the-absence-of-birth-nobody-exists-who-can-be/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“The worst fear of the race yes, the world suddenly transformed into a senseless nightmare, horrible dissolution of things. Nothing compares, even oblivion is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-worst-fear-of-the-race-yes-the-world-suddenly-transformed-into-a/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“In supernatural horror stories, however, magical thinking is a completely different matter. Those characters contending with what seems to be the work of magic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/in-supernatural-horror-stories-however-magical-thinking-is-a/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“When you are alone in the wilderness, opinions or beliefs of any kind are dropped as the absurd accoutrements they are. But after being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/when-you-are-alone-in-the-wilderness-opinions-or-beliefs-of-any-kind/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“There seems to be an inborn drive in all human beings not to live in a steady emotional state, which would suggest that such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/there-seems-to-be-an-inborn-drive-in-all-human-beings-not-to-live-in/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [Nature proceeds by blunders; that is its way. It is also ours. So if we have blundered by regarding consciousness as a blunder, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/nature-proceeds-by-blunders-that-is-its-way-it-is-also-ours-so-if-we/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [We live in a permanent state of bad faith, a mutual representation of ourselves to one another for the sake of remaining sane and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/we-live-in-a-permanent-state-of-bad-faith-a-mutual-representation-of/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“The darkness of the grotesque is an immortal enigma: in all legends of the dead, in all the tales of creatures of the night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-darkness-of-the-grotesque-is-an-immortal-enigma-in-all-legends-of/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“If truth is what you seek, then the examined life will only take you on a long ride to the limits of solitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/if-truth-is-what-you-seek-then-the-examined-life-will-only-take-you/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“The dismembered limbs of dolls and puppets are strewn about everywhere. 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The voiding of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-lessons-in-measurement-of-cloacal-forces-time-as-a-flow-of-sewage/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [And the worst possible thing we could know — worse than knowing of our descent from a mass of microorganisms — is that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/and-the-worst-possible-thing-we-could-know-worse-than-knowing-of-our/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [“Only catatonics and coma patients can persevere in a dignified withdrawal from life’s rattle and hum. Without a “yes” in our hearts, nothing would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/only-catatonics-and-coma-patients-can-persevere-in-a-dignified/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) [Explore all 187 Thomas Ligotti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) ## More Story Actually quotes > [“Every picture tells a story. But sometimes it's hard to know what story is actually being told.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-hollings/every-picture-tells-a-story-but-sometimes-it-s-hard-to-know-what/) [Anastasia Hollings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastasia-hollings/) > [The big issue was cutting. I finally cut as much as I could, about a fourth of the story, and actually liked it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zz-packer-64818/the-big-issue-was-cutting-i-finally-cut-as-much-as-i-could-about-a/) [ZZ Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zz-packer-64818/) > [“Can a story be good only if it produces an effect? If the effect is a bad one, but intended, has the story done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brock-clarke/can-a-story-be-good-only-if-it-produces-an-effect-if-the-effect-is-a/) [Brock Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brock-clarke/) > [I just think people have a lot of fiction. But, you know, I mean, the real story of Facebook is just that we've worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/i-just-think-people-have-a-lot-of-fiction-but-you-know-i-mean-the/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [The real story of Facebook is just that we've worked so hard for all this time. 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But when I introduced him to my family and my friends, they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/love-story-is-actually-about-a-guy-that-i-almost-dated-but-when-i/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Every writer knows a lot more about their characters and story than actually makes it onto the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-their-characters-and-story-than/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) [Browse all 9 Story Actually quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-actually-823671/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The experimental version of this story could actually be told as two stories happening “simultaneously,” each narrated in alternating sections which take place in parallel chronologies. 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