Time spacing

Forestqueen808 · Dec 25, 2011

How do you space out your novels? So, mine is taking place in WW2, it started at the end of 1938. Is it okay to just cut a HUGE part? I'm really going rapidly through the seasons, and I know I'll need to expand summer before the war a little bit, but its frustrating because I just want to get to the MAIN conflict. But I can't do that until 1940. So, how do I space it enough that I can get to the story, but not so much that it will bore my reader?

thothguard51 · Dec 25, 2011

Perhaps chapter titles with the year and month.

radish36 · Dec 26, 2011

You could "skip ahead" and write the main part you're excited about... then go back and fill in?

Jamesaritchie · Dec 26, 2011

Why not start with 1940, and add any needed info from the previous years as needed?

brianjanuary · Dec 26, 2011

Your main 1940 conflict is the meat of your story. How about a prologue for the background information and then get the ball rolling after that?

dangerousbill · Dec 26, 2011

thothguard51 said:
Perhaps chapter titles with the year and month.

This is the easiest method and doesn't require any literary tricks. Every reader understands it.

johnleo142 · Dec 26, 2011

There are three easy ways to do that.

1. Write the part of 1938 in prologue, then get to the main content which starts from 1940.

2. Skip those two years by writing "After two years" or "After two years of World War 2" or something like that (according to your taste).

3. Simply skip the whole 1938 part and start directly from 1940.

Hope it helped!

BethS · Dec 26, 2011

Forestqueen808 said:
I just want to get to the MAIN conflict. But I can't do that until 1940. So, how do I space it enough that I can get to the story, but not so much that it will bore my reader?

Why 1938? If the main conflict starts in 1940, what's wrong with opening then?

Forestqueen808 · Dec 26, 2011

Its the very end of 1938, so there is no 1938 really. 1939 is when the war begins. I'm just wondering if its okay to skip a whole month and say like: February went by in a blur (add some info of what happened here) and March was coming in fast.

Buffysquirrel · Dec 26, 2011

Yes, that's perfectly okay. My novel skips about four years or so in which nothing really happens.

Orianna2000 · Dec 27, 2011

You're talking about transitioning. It's a very common element in novel-writing. You can do it by mentioning the passage of time: "Before I knew it, the year had passed and 1940 dawned." Or you can just start a new chapter and head it with a time stamp: "March, 1940". Or, if each section is long enough, you can divide the book into "parts" and have a title page that gives the year before the next chapter begins: "Part II, 1940". Any of these methods are acceptable, so pick the one that suits your novel the best.

Time spacing

Forestqueen808

What can I say? I'm a writer

thothguard51

A Gentleman of a refined age...

radish36

live free or die

Jamesaritchie

brianjanuary

dangerousbill

Retired Illuminatus

johnleo142

BethS

Forestqueen808

What can I say? I'm a writer

Buffysquirrel

Orianna2000

Freelance Writer