: Re: Referring to different instances of the same character in time travel I am writing a story that involves time travel, and I have a chapter where a character from the future interacts with his

@Murray831

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... what are some good ways to distinguish between them without taking the reader too far out of the story?

First introduce the main character (unless you prefer to introduce the alternate first).

Provide an overview that establishes some characteristics of the person.
Reveal additional information about the person later to further develop our impression of them.
Further details can be kept from the reader, to add mystery or to be revealed for a plot twist, etc.

Introduce the other character, either side by side or isolated in a seperate scene.

Whether or not it is immediately obvious to the reader that there are two persons is dependent upon how you wish to write the plot.
How much information is provided during the initial reveal is again dependent upon the way the story is written.
Introduce the second person in a manner similar to the way one would present an identical twin.
Since the two characters are five years apart describe the dress and actions of each slightly exaggerated away from each other, for example the 15 year old might seem more like a 14 year old in behavior and clothing while the 20 year old would dress and undertake activity more suited to one 22-25 years old.

Since each has a separate timeline (they didn't suddenly divide) each has come initially from the same place but most recently, most likely, from different places. Their recent past and whom (and how) they have interacted with people will be different.

The younger one would have most recent memories (and clearer recollection) of events that occurred when they were younger, while the older one would possess information unknown to the younger self.
The older one would know more people, or others persons and events that are more recent. Decide how to explain which other characters are from old or recent past and then the interaction of each persona with the person or event will hint the reader as to which one is being referred to. Exactly how clearly you convey that will determine how clearly the reader perceives the one being referred to, depending again on how you are telling the story you can adjust that; and make it more obvious later.
The older one would have additional abilities and possessions. They might own a car, have a job, even have had a divorce; all things that the younger self lacks.

Where a future self goes back to a past time they would know of a future that might never exist, this could be a source of unwarranted concerns not understood by the characters of the time.

The older self would seem like the older brother of his time-twin to his teenage peers. Sometimes this could be a characteristic seen as useful or one of which they would be envious, other times this may be perceived as domineering or one whom knows too much (doesn't let loose, too mature). This depends upon the personalities of the younger and older selves and how the writer chooses to present them.
The older self might choose to set a good example for the younger persons or might have taken the wrong road and it is the younger group that sets the better example. Depending on how the story is to be written the two groups (the older self, and the younger self and peers) could interact with each other from an entirely different perspective; depending again on how much personal development is bestowed upon the elder.

Keep your younger audience in mind while writing and introduce the older person's experiences and new responsibilities so they are not foreign to the reader, while portraying the older as more knowledgeable but possessing knowledge not either deemed essential or even relevant in the younger time line. Similarly the younger self might have goals that proved impractical or were never realized by the elder, either might put it upon the other to embrace or abandon these goals.

The younger and older version would be no different from twin test tube babies born five years apart and raised by separated parents, if that's an easier way to summarize the concept.

Whether, in the end, each persona seems alike or quite different, is successful or not, well liked or despised depends on the direction of growth each experiences; and the degree to which each is capable of affecting the other.

If making the distinction between the two is "too far out of the story" then they are really like same aged identical twins whom spend a lot of time together and share common interests; in a written work constantly having to explain whom is who becomes tiresome and should be avoided. If they are not to be so different then the relevance of whom did what should be left for the screenplay and not be belabored in the book.

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