Blue Jeans and Pearls

I’m curious what both readers and writers think about the “two nows” structure, where a novel alternates between two points in time.  Numerous authors have used this structure, but Charlotte Rains Dixon has a great article about it on her site.  Here’s her explanation:

Both the linear and thematic structures tend to follow a similar pattern—chapters alternating consistently between the two nows with an equal emphasis on each storyline. Occasionally, authors allow us to remain in the contemporary storyline for more than one chapter, but this rarely happens with the past storyline. Its important to keep the contemporary narrative moving (which is why you chose this structure) and lingering in the past will not accomplish that. By the last third or quarter of the novel, the two storylines will, of necessity, start to merge until there is one seamless narrative remaining.

I’ve been doing some rewriting and reorganizing on my manuscript Back To Me this weekend, and I think I’ve decided two thing: 1) to convert it from first person present tense to third person past tense, and 2) to use the “two nows” structure to present the important backstory without relying on flashbacks that stop the present action.

My very favorite book of all time, Plantation by Dorthea Benton Frank (which got a sequel this summer, yay!), uses a version of the “two nows,” which I hadn’t really thought about until I read the article by Dixon today.  I’ve read a number of other books that employ this method, and I think I’ve always enjoyed it. 

What about you all?  (I’m not going to lie, I had to concentrate to keep from typing “y’all” there!)  Have you read books that use the “two now” structure?  Did you like reading that structure?  Have you written a manuscript using this method?