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How to write passing of time

Summarize events

Many are familiar with the difference between summary and scene writing, but sometimes it's not so easy to identify.

Summaries skim through events, not providing enough information for readers to completely visualize the actions in their mind.

Scenes are a more moment-by-moment, detailed showing of events. Scenes also include dialogue and non-paraphrased thoughts, which summaries don't.

Hide summaries in scenes

Summaries lack tension and naturally use "telling" rather than "showing" techniques. But you can't do away with them altogether.

One way to keep readers engaged with summaries is to keep them short and mix them between scenes. You can also use a summary sentence or two as a transition between scenes.

Emphasize details

To spice up a summary, actively use "show" techniques such as adding bursts of detail, or a humorous side-note by the narrator.

Just because summaries naturally lean towards "telling", it doesn't mean you have to stick with that. Be creative, and don't drop your voice when summarising.

Keep the summary relevant

The events you summarise must be necessary for the story to move forward, or to put your characters in context for the next scene.

Balance summary and scene

Ideally, you want summaries to take up the smallest percentage of your word count as possible. When you do need to use summaries, the best places to put them are at the end or sometimes the beginning of a scene. This way they don't interrupt the flow of action.

State the time

Stating the time is a small, necessary step to keep your reader grounded in the story.

You should let them know either the current time or how much time has passed whenever you summarise, skip time, or move back in time.

Use transitional time words

Starting new scenes with phrases such as “the next day” or “a week before the party” is a clear way of stating the current time.

Include time markers

Time markers are any descriptive details that indicate time has passed. Ideally, you'll also want them to flag how much time has passed.

Master flashbacks

Rather than summarising backstory, or dropping it into dialogue, some writers reveal it in scenes called flashbacks. This enables the writer to create a more vivid and emotional character backstory.

Switch tense

To signal the start and end of flashbacks, switch to past perfect tense for a few sentences.

Trigger Your Time Jumps

When you skip a period of time, or go back in time, lead to the jump with a trigger. This trigger can be anything – an object, a sensory item such as a color or smell, a line of dialogue, or simply something embedded in the narration. It serves as a link to the time of the next scene.

Past reminders

When you're moving back in time, use something strongly and clearly linked to the specific past event to trigger a memory. The best triggers for flashbacks spark a character's memory, which the narration follows to lead the reader through past events.

Don’t trigger without jumping

Don't end a scene by referencing a different time, past or present, if you are not about to jump to that time. Readers become disorientated if they don't know when they are, or if several sentences later realize they weren't when they thought they were.

Separate Time Periods

When skipping over time, you must insert some sort of break. This break could be the end of a scene, chapter, section or a book.

When using flashbacks, it isn't necessary to use a break to separate the past and present, but it is recommended.

Flag breaks that don’t skip time

If you skip time often, or twice in a row, be clear when a scene break doesn't skip over time. Readers will quickly become familiar with patterns and are off-put when their expectations aren't met.

To avoid this, simply use a time marker. If your break switches between characters, have them both notice the sunrise or be thinking about the same event.

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