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Tips On Writing Time Skips

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Sneaky Summarizing

Summarizing is an important part of skipping several events along a timeline, but you don’t need to introduce the new part of the narrative with a 10 page long info-dump on everything that happened. If nothing is omitted, then there’s no point in skipping it at all. If you’ve chosen to skip a long period of time, then cherry pick the important information for the scene you’re introducing and make it clear that time has passed. Don’t share a lot, because you don’t want to reveal too much and certainly not too soon. 

Be Clear About The Timeline

Unless the aspect of not knowing where in the timeline these events are happening is a purposeful tool you’re utilizing, you need to make sure the reader is aware of how much time has passed and where they stand now within the conflict. What has changed, what has persisted, what has worsened or resolved, and how has this affected the characters? 

Utilize Flashbacks

Sometimes it’s a good idea to leave the reader a bit disoriented by the shift in time, and in this case I think using flashbacks can be a creative way to turn up the suspense and give them information while also showing them the space which is occupied by what they aren’t allowed to know yet. Instead of explaining something, you could show them a part of the period you’ve skipped and let them infer its significance or glean the important information. 

Take Advantage of Formatting

Referring to the flashback point a bit, let your readers know very clearly that they’ve revisited the past. An easy and pretty universal way to do so is through formatting, like creating a divider between the present and past narrative pieces, or italicizing the flashback portion of the chapter. This also makes it easier to pop tiny flashbacks in as they become relevant or imperative to the reader continuing to connect the dots.

Recognizable Triggers

When you move forward in time a considerable distance, you need to create some consistency in what triggers this decision, like a common occurrence, resolution to a smaller conflict, etc. This build up will be noted subconsciously in the reader’s mind and as soon as those things return later on, the tension will build naturally. 

Transitions Within The Text

Don’t end a chapter abruptly on a cliffhanger and then skip 10 years. I mean, do what you want, but in most cases this is a bad idea. The pace and timeline of your story should have good ebbs and flows, and the flow of your story will be noticeably jolted if there are no transitions leading up to and out of time skips. 

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