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24 February 2013

How to Deal with a Time Jump in Your Novel, Memoir, Screenplay

Upon entering the Middle of your novel, memoir, screenplay, if you have a time jump, this is where to make the jump.

The end of the beginning scene you wrote based on Prompt 30 in The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing moves your protagonist from the relative safety of the beginning into the exotic world the antagonists in the middle.

 In satisfying the reader's expectations for conflict and plot twists early-on in your story, the reader moves forward into the story with trust. The beginning quarter of the story operates as a plot within a plot and ends on a high note of anticipate -- what happens next?

Jumping now in time, creates more curiosity and wonder in the reader as she moves into the great unknown of the middle. Now the story develops around the contrast between the world where the character started and where she is now.

SPECIAL EVENTS:
Book Giveaway:
Comment today (2/27th) on Writer's Block at The Bookshelf Muse. Win a free copy of The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing.

Plot Webinar: 
Join me virtually on March 6th to Track Your Plot at the Scene Level, webinar hosted by the Writers Store.

Knowing what to write where in a story with a plot allows for a more loving relationship with your writing. Whether writing a first draft or revising, if you falter wondering what comes next in a story with a plot, follow the prompts in The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing.

Today, I write.

To familiarize yourself with the basic plot terms used here and in the PW Book of Prompts:
1) Watch the plot playlists on the Plot Whisperer Youtube channel.
2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
3) Fill out the exercises in The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
4) Visit:
Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook

Plot Whisperer on Twitter