: Re: Are there rules for, or guidelines on, time gaps between a plot's scenes/chapters? I've been reading a host of old favourites, classics and authors outside of my usual reading pool, in an effort

@Gretchen741

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Time lapses, time advancements are used to move the story forward per plot situation, tempo, and cohesiveness.

If your story is going to span several generations of characters...well, then, you are going to move the story forward (skipping the non-pertainent boring crap) by time advancements.

If your story is going to stay in the moment, perhaps spanning only a week or a day (think Grey's Anatomy), then go breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

There are no rules. There is common sense and a wicked sense of time. Get into your plot. Know your plot. Know your character/characters/situations. Write down all the scenes you can clearly "see" in your mind, and put those down on some cards. Now take a deep breath and decide what scene you might have to add between these cards for the story plot to make sense.

You might end up with several scenes between these. You might end up with none---these will be your lapses.

If you don't need it, don't show it. And NEVER, ever, ever, tell it.

A good writer usually knows that when he's starting to "tell", he needs to say, "cut." He needs to have a time advancement.

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