How to jump through time often?

[Aleric]

Hiya all again,

 

I am running into a few problems while writing. Two things are really getting annoying heheh.

 

First of all, I am heading for a milestone that I set, as end of the first chapter... only to realize that I don't know how to get there! Its impossible!

 

Yeah, that sounds weird - but you'll understand it when you read my story... I'll just have to think of SOMETHING. I don't want to give away too much already though. Let's just say that my main character is inventing something and doing so takes his whole life. That means that I often have to skip large amounts of time - like weeks, months and even years. At the same time however I started to weave in a relationship, a coming-of-age type of relationship even UGH! Suddenly I can't jump through time anymore! I've put myself check-mate :sword:

 

But ok, that is just my problem. Here is my question: I am writing in a style were dialogus are an essential part of the story: it's how a building relationship is described. That's a style where every minute is described thus, almost in real-time. But every now and then I get to a point where the whole situation would get boring and I need to introduce new fuel - so, then I need a jump in time. Very often I feel that this would only "feel" right when at the same time I started a new heh chapter... not the 5000-word kind of chapter, the release-and-wait-for-feedback chapters, the one-html-page chapters that make a nice print-job to read before going to sleep. No, just a new little heading you know. Like this.

 

On with the show

 

Once upon a time there was an author who had written so many stories that he couldn't remember anymore how many.

 

You see? It is *acceptable* when I start something (seemingly) TOTALLY different - provided that it is at the start of a new chapter. And that seems what is needed when I make a jump into time, like ... to the next time "they" meet.

 

I've read a lot of stories of you guys, though from a limited number of authors I must admit (when I like an author I first read EVERYTHING they wrote before moving on to the next . And it appeared to me that you guys never use little headers inside the (big) chapters. Only new alineas

 

Damn. I can't even formulate my question satisfactory. How can I expect an answer to this rambling?

 

Aleric :wacko:

[Crackerwriter]

You can always make a chapter break leaving a type of cliffhanger

 

Makes a lot of people bald like that, waiting for the next chapter!

[Bill W]

Aleric, here is another suggestion. If I am writing and leaving a big gap in time or going to something different within the same chapter, I divide it with a series of eight asterisks. It would look something like this:

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Of course, it would be centered and you would use multiple spaces (3 or 4) between the asterisks, to spread it across the center of the page. That is just enough to let the reader know there has been a gap in time or a some other change in the flow of what preceded it. I hope that helps.

[Ibsu]

Hiya all again,

 

I am running into a few problems while writing. Two things are really getting annoying heheh.

 

First of all, I am heading for a milestone that I set, as end of the first chapter... only to realize that I don't know how to get there!  Its impossible! 

 

Yeah, that sounds weird - but you'll understand it when you read my story... I'll just have to think of SOMETHING. I don't want to give away too much already though. Let's just say that my main character is inventing something and doing so takes his whole life. 

 

I would actually suggest a flashback mechanism. Start yourself with two timelines in each chapter - the first part is about present, and then the next part incorporates a moment that ties into the present, those moments coming in chronological order through the chapters.

 

Yes, it means quite a bit of rewriting. A similar thing happened to me in a large, as-yet-unreleased story. I waved my hands over the introduction (because I'm really not good at them) and kind of skipped over the hard parts, thinking that I would just weave a thread through them. Unfortunately, what I found out is that those hard parts were goiing to result in a large plot hole and an overpowered main character. So, here comes the major rewrite where instead of the protagonist being a Ph.D student in Physics (of which I don't know nearly enough to write!), he's an artist. Who, it's going to turn out, really wished he would have gone through a few more science and engineering classes.

 

Sometimes the rewrite is the solution.

[Aleric]

So, here comes the major rewrite where instead of the protagonist being a Ph.D student in Physics (of which I don't know nearly enough to write!), he's an artist. Who, it's going to turn out, really wished he would have gone through a few more science and engineering classes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thanks everyone for the replies!

 

I went for the long-chapter in which I attempt (I am still attempting) to actually straight-forward end up where I wanted to endup. Fortunately I am a Physics PhD and a computer expert :graduated:

 

So, the only problem left is whether or not readers will be able to follow it

 

* * * * * * * *

 

The astriks separation is very useful though, I might use it, thanks!

 

Sorry for the late reply, but I wasn't notified by email when you guys added replies to my post; I had forgotten to click the ''Enable email notification" checkbox.

 

Regards,

Aleric

[Crackerwriter]

 

Sorry for the late reply, but I wasn't notified by email when you guys added replies to my post; I had forgotten to click the ''Enable email notification" checkbox.

 

That'll teach me to look sometime - I didn't even realise there was such a thing!

 

Must be getting too old!