: Readability for narrative type with respect to time I am planning a series of fantasy novels which will be told in linear time with relatively small time jumps. One novel in the collection,

I am planning a series of fantasy novels which will be told in linear time with relatively small time jumps. One novel in the collection, however must span several generations while keeping the same protagonist.

This novel will need to have several large time jumps and I'm worried about readability. I believe I have 3 options:

Linear narrative with large time jumps (Resulting in several large gaps)
Linear narrative with much exposition to explain past events (Resulting in roughly 1/3 of novel being exposition or historical conversation)
Non-linear narrative

My question is which is generally regarded as easier for the reader to follow?
Also if I missed an option it'd be nice to know of others.

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@Debbie451

Option 1 will probably be easiest. Create a Part or Section break and give it a name: Part II, Rivendell, The War. You indicate the passage of time with some kind of identifying text at the beginning of the chapter (Ten Years Later) or within the name itself (After the War), or just have the character muse that it had been five years since some event at the end of the previous chapter.

The gaps are okay. In graphic design, we often say "Don't be afraid of white space. The design needs to breathe." Same here with the narrative. You don't need to cover every minute of every day. It's fine to jump ahead of the quiet parts to get to the meat of the story.

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: Readability for narrative type with respect to time I am planning a series of fantasy novels which will be told in linear time with relatively small time jumps. One novel in the collection,

More posts by @Megan928

: How do I plot the defeat of an all-knowing, god-like antagonist? I have a plot bunny lingering in my head about a rag-tag band of defective cyborgs facing off against a god-like supercomputer.

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