: Re: How do I cover many years with little activity without it feeling rushed? In a story that I am writing, due to some time travel issues, the protagonists will have to wait a number of years

@Kristi637

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If truly nothing happens, then it's natural to elide it --stories do this all the time, and we even do this with our real life memories. Life is "lumpy," an hour can feel like a lifetime, a year can pass in a blink of an eye. Just give it a quick sentence and move on:

"What with one thing and another, three years passed" -- William Goldman, The Princess Bride

On the other hand, if this feels rushed, maybe that's a sign that something important to your storyline or characters needs to happen in that blank space. Often this comes down to "emotional believability." If your characters are growing, changing, working out their differences, or gaining new skills, your readers may demand to see at least some evidence of the work taking place --not every moment, perhaps, but one of them. Readers have a sixth sense for laziness in an author --your own discomfort with quickly skipping over this time elapsed suggests you feel like you're avoiding needed work.

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