Making time move

Ervin · Mar 3, 2008

I am currently 40,000 words into my novel, and my MC is now 14 years old. What I am trying to do is push him up to age 18 or 19 before the novel ends. The problem is that this is a fantasy novel, and the MC is constantly busy with events, and pursuing his personal objectives. The reason I want him to be older is because a 19 year old is stronger and more capable than a 14 year old, making the book more realistic, I am already pushing the realism in his strength as it is. But I can hardly end a day without packing it with events, I can't help but write my book in real time. The story sometimes ends up being told day by day, and I'm worried that it will seem awkward if I just told the events of three days in a row, and suddenly jumped several weeks, or even months.

Any suggestions?

Mumut · Mar 3, 2008

I can't see any problem with stating a fact and starting the next chapter by writing, 'Three years later MC would remember (that fact)...' If you have action before and action after, I don't see anyone being too worried that three years of the same or similar have past without any detail. But try it and see how it sounds to you.

Madison · Mar 3, 2008

dissenter's opinion - just IMO, you know - I never like it when time jumps, especially if the character is lovable. It seems like so much is missing and you don't get to know the character so well. but that's just me. ignore me. i'm sure you can do it well. just don't leave out the good scenes.

Dan Razor · Mar 3, 2008

Well, I would say look at certain movies that have it revolve around a kids life at one point skip a few years. Depending what the plot is, you could say that the excitement dies down until so many years and then it is brought back up. But that is just my way of thinking it.

maestrowork · Mar 3, 2008

Time jumps are no problem in fiction, as long as there's clarity. You can even go back and forth and reverse chronology. Again, as long as there's clarity.

MDSchafer · Mar 3, 2008

Maybe your character should be 19 years old in the beginning of your story. Fantasy is packed with kids in their early teens

Ervin · Mar 3, 2008

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I'll definetly consider them.

Danger Jane · Mar 3, 2008

When I'm trying to pass time, I write it episodically if I don't have subplots (meaningful scenes) to carry the story day to day. In my one story, I need to pass about...oh, just under 300 years, and the characters aren't doing that much. The main plot is pretty much done, and the resolution comes some decades later. I show a few select scenes to get to...the end, and smoothly, too.

Don't show every single day if every single day isn't interesting and relevant to the story. A story is the world filtered.

mikeland · Mar 3, 2008

My gut reaction is that you don't have a very good reason for making the jump in age. That is to say, the reason doesn't seem to have anything to do with the story. It has to do with you as a writer being nervous about something you may be overthinking.

Remember your initial instincts here. You had a good reason to make the MC fourteen. An age jump could undermine whatever reason that is. And it could throw the reader for a loop if it doesn't make logical sense in the story.

Readers have no real problems with a 14 year old that is strong physically and emotionally. Look at the harry potter and narnia books, just to stay with obvious examples.

My unsolicited advice. If your story is flowing at 40,000 words with the MC at fourteen, don't worry about his age. Write to the end and see how it turns out.

Raphee · Mar 3, 2008

Use a time jump. Simply go from age 14 to age 19 in one go.
"five years passed before he would see Dorian again..." is a clumsy sentence but you get the idea.

NicoleMD · Mar 4, 2008

Time jumps can be jarring for a reader, so you might need to have a satisfying payoff. I'm not sure that just wanting him to be older and stronger would qualify. If the events of these three days have truly affected him and changed him, would he be better equipped than most 14 years olds to handle it? Even if it's tougher for him to handle than a 19 year old, that just puts more obstacles in his way, which could serve your climax well. I always love an illequipped hero.

Not to say your jump shouldn't be done, though. If it's necessary, readers will adapt readily if the story is good enough.

ETA: Just curious, how many words do you estimate you have left in your novel and what point does your time jump fit in?

Nicole

HeronW · Mar 4, 2008

Do all his daily activities really need to be listed as menaingful? How much can a 14 yr old do that is interesting every hour of every day? I understand this is fantasy but no one keeps up a frenzied pace day after day as a teenager. Are there repetitions that can be omitted or glossed over?

Time jumps: a week later/ when he turned 16/ he said he'd meet his friends at the festival later in the year/ after graduation from mage school/ all can work.

josephwise · Mar 4, 2008

It sounds to me like you would need to slow things down a bit before leaping ahead a few years. A good way to do this is to give the readers a mini-climax that ends in a cliff-hanger.

For instance, your character could get into a fight with the antagonist, and get beaten nearly to death. But he manages to escape and goes into hiding. This presents a climax, with a sort of victory, but with a huge loose-thread still hanging out there.

You could then spend the next chapter or so showing how your character grows stronger over the years, by re-examining the way he approaches things, becoming smarter, growing physically, and the like.

Then, when he's ready, you can "set-out" again on the same kind of real-time journey you had at the beginning.

Ervin · Mar 4, 2008

Thank you for all the great responses, I got several good ideas together so far.

ETA: Just curious, how many words do you estimate you have left in your novel and what point does your time jump fit in?

I am hoping to get up to 100k, I want to make the transition at the later half of the story, at around 60 or 70k. I am, planning on having a sequel, where the events become larger, and the MC is already older thanks to the transition that I am planning now.

For instance, your character could get into a fight with the antagonist, and get beaten nearly to death. But he manages to escape and goes into hiding. This presents a climax, with a sort of victory, but with a huge loose-thread still hanging out there.

That gives me ideas, I'm thinking of having the MC witness a brutal murder of several people, almost like a small massacre, which becomes a revelation to him that ties in to the main theme. Then he gets chased down by the people that did the killing, and it simply cuts off at that point, and the next scene takes the reader years forward.

How does that sound?

NicoleMD · Mar 4, 2008

Ervin said:
How does that sound?

Sounds interesting enough to me. Run with it!

I was just worried the time jump would come too close to the ending, but it sounds well-placed, and like you've got enough plot to get the reader reinvested. For a transition, you might consider having two parts, and simply starting with the older MC in the second.

Nicole

Making time move

Ervin

Mumut

Well begun is half done...

Madison

summertime...

Dan Razor

Bringing Flanel back

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

MDSchafer

Ervin

Danger Jane

mikeland

Call me Pookie

Raphee

In debt to AW

NicoleMD

Onomatopotamus

HeronW

Down Under Fan

josephwise

Ervin

NicoleMD

Onomatopotamus