Kashaaz

One of the conundrums that i have faced in my experience with writing, is now to pass the long passages of time. I predominantly write fantasy (or i'd like to think of it a writing ), and sometimes i get stumped on how to effectively yet neatly pass time. For example when people are traveling, i never know how much detail to go into, or whether to just say "after x time they arrived at blah blah blah". This is the hard part for me because it is all in the same chapter, and i have to somehow pass the time within a paragraph break (if that made any sense at all, cookie to you)

the other sort of example i have at the moment is the story i am beginning to write. The first chapter or so i want to go into a little bit of background about the state of the world (this is set after some pretty MAJOR events), and then the main character will be born (his birth is special as he is the son of a goddess and a few other things). Then i need to skip time to his early adulthood. This is slightly easier i suppose because it is from one chapter to another so i can just start writing, but my question is how to i introduce the idea that years have passed? i know i can depict him as adult in his mannerisms and what he does in the first parts of the chapter, but how do i get across the idea of just how much time has passed?

thanks in advance

FrankBlissett

Terry Brooks lets major amounts of time pass between sagas of his Shanara franchise. I've only read a few of his books, but I think he simply introduced the changes through the course of the prose. That fans would understand that a lot of time has passed, while new readers wouldn't care.

-Frank

Slugfly

This might be more time than you expect, but Isaac Asimov, in several of his Foundation novels, lets centuries pass between chapters. Usually the way he notes it is by making reference in dialogue to something that happened "centuries past" which we as readers would have just been part of.

Perhaps you could do something like this, if it's a few weeks passing then maybe you could have one of the characters mention something we had seen before the several week jump. So, they see a nasty dragon flying overhead, then after the time break "Hey Billybobjoebob, you remember that nasty dragon we say flying overhead a couple weeks ago?"

Kashaaz

ahh yes, thats a good way of tying things in. I'll try using this, it should be pretty effective for my needs at the moment.
Thanks

suzakugaiden

"This is the hard part for me because it is all in the same chapter, and i have to somehow pass the time within a paragraph break (if that made any sense at all, cookie to you)"

Why can't you have a different chapter? That'd make more sense.

Also, if you mention your character leaving a place, unless they end up getting sidetracked, you don't need to go to great lengths to make it apparent that they're there.

Anyway though, your entire approach to this seems off. you're utilizing prose as function work instead of... Well, it comes off as unnatural and mechanical. You're focusing too much on devices. This could potentially cause you to become Dan Brown.

FrankBlissett

LOL

Researchers have recently identified a set of symptoms they have dubbed "Dan Brown Syndrome". While there is yet no known cause, there are some treatments currently being tested. According to Dr Suzaku Gaiden, "Weekly doses of HemmingwayIPrine seems to help most sufferers." For more chronic cases, alternative therapists are recommending intensive Kerouac Therapy.

-Frank

Fantasy of You

Just use half-scenes if you don't want to go to another chapter. Or simply say 'the journey was less troublesome than he had expected. Within x he could see the city on the horizon' or something..

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