Passing of time & chapter breaking

Captain Morgan · Apr 11, 2007

Ok I have a little dilemma and I think I may sort of be cheating if I try to fix it.

One chapter is just simply getting too long. I have 2 characters who were traveling from point A to point B. Now they arrived at point B after many pages. So I suppose I could add some sort of BREAK in this area and try to jump to somewhere else in the story, perhaps another character doing something else, then return back to this area.

However, when I return back, I want it to basically be instantaneous from when I left off. But if I have the (inserted chapter) taking up some time elsewhere, that is representing time passing by and will perhaps look strange to the reader when I am continuing later exactly where I left off.

[FONT=&quot]Now perhaps I am just looking too deep, or too technical in this time issue. I know other authors do this sometimes and it always caught me a little strange.[/FONT]

IrishScribbler · Apr 11, 2007

I think you may be looking too deep. I've read lots of books that do what you're wanting to do.

Try it and see if it works for you.

maestrowork · Apr 11, 2007

If you do it right, no one would even notice that break.

herdon · Apr 11, 2007

An intervening chapter doesn't mean time passed. You could have one chapter end with a character swinging a chair at another character, switch to another PoV halfway across the world, then start the next chapter with the chair hitting the guy in the back of the head.

Or, if you simply want think it is a good time to end the chapter, you don't actually need an intervening PoV at all. You could simply start the next chapter where the last one left off.

Either way, it's fine.

Captain Morgan · Apr 11, 2007

I had also been debating on just putting in a new chapter title, and resuming. But doesn't that almost void the point of breaking stories into chapters?

The more I think about it, the more I should add in a seperate chapter for something going on elsewhere in the book, or I think the story may get too linear. I don't think following the protagonist's POV EVERY PAGE for numerous pages is a hot thing to do.

Anyhow, I'll make the new chapter very short, I just feel awkward as 99% of the time I'm sort of represtenting hours of time going by through each of them.

Tachyon · Apr 11, 2007

I had also been debating on just putting in a new chapter title, and resuming. But doesn't that almost void the point of breaking stories into chapters?

Not at all. Sometimes time will pass between two chapters with the same characters/setting; sometimes it won't. Depends on what's happening. I've seen this in lots of novels, and it makes sense to me.

I break a chapter when I want the reader to put the book down.

Since chapters basically divide the book into neat little sections, most people (that I know, anyway) will tend to read until the end of the current chapter before they stop and put the book down, time permitting. So I make sure to end my chapters in such a way that it leaves the reader anxious to go back, anticipating what happens next.

Oddsocks · Apr 11, 2007

Events can occur simultaneously in stories as they do in real life, but you can't write them as simultaneous, because you've only got the events happening on the page in front of you. So it's perfectly fine to cut to somewhere else, show some stuff there, and then resume exactly where you left off. For all we know, these other events occured while your character were heading from A to B, or they might be occuring during the events that follow immediately after reaching point B. You don't have to treat each hour that passes for the characters you're focusing on at the time as an hour that's passed for everyone else from where you last left them.

Carmy · Apr 11, 2007

Some advise ending a chapter at a cliffhanger.

I don't see that inserting another chapter will affect the time change. It can easily be shown to the reader in a number of ways, for example, if one chapter takes place during spring, open the next chapter with leaves or snow falling. If years have passed, you could show that by offering the reader a glimpse at the character's appearance.

rwam · Apr 12, 2007

Cap'n. You've already mentioned the 'travelling' chapter is "simply getting too long". Is it another alternative to find a couple break points in that chapter and flip to the intermittent chapter you've been thinking about inserting? I guess it depends on pace. If there's a lot of action in this chapter you're thinking about inserting (especially if it relates back to the guys travelling), maybe it makes sense to break the too-long-travelling-chapter up into 2-3 chaps, and you insert segments of this other chapter in amongst the breaks. This sort of thing then implies simultaneousity (is that a word?). Anyway, just an idea.

Passing of time & chapter breaking

Captain Morgan

IrishScribbler

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

herdon

What's up?

Captain Morgan

Tachyon

Oddsocks

Carmy

rwam