Advice for Writers

Time skips

This is mainly aimed towards fanfiction writers. Time skips are fine and all, but I think there's a fine line between a time skip and a skip of time.

What I mean is when authors will write a section of their book/novel and put (Lol, to lazy to write this part) this isn't quirky, it's just straight-up disheartening to be captivated by a story and for an authors note to be slapped in the middle of a scene. This is what I personally believe is known as a "line skipper," which I describe as when the story skips infront of time to get to juicer bits of a story/plot. This could be used for the original drafting or when you don't feel as ready to write dialogue, but to publish it outside of draft 1 and into your finished product is just weird to me.

A naturally integrated time skip typically doesn't acknowledge that time has been skipped, which is typically where it fits best in any given story. This can be hinted at with a line such as "Once we arrived at the mall, Judy stormed through the doors." Once we arrived is a line that could be used over a few-several minute time frame whereas "Days went by before Charlie opened his door." Days is not the best term to try and address time being skipped, but frankly, it's still better than a (Lmao, sorry, too lazy! :P)

Another, not commonly noticed, is when a chapter ends abruptly and switches to a different time. Books like "To All the Boys I Loved Before" (Jenny Han) does this, but it feels natural because the characters are pushed ahead in time where further action can be put forth.

What I'm trying to say is that time skips are pretty greasy. Try not to make it feel too unnatural for the readers, a time skip should run smoothly with a story and should have a purpose for the plot. This is most likely my own opinion, however, I do believe time skips should be taken more seriously than what I see from writers.

I'll see you guys whenever I have motivation to write again! 😔

Books mentioned:)

-To All the Boys I Loved Before (Jenny Han, in reference to the entire series)
-Other lines/quotations have been directly taken from me, however, bears no plot relevance/meaning to my current projects, "Update Required" and "Sophia Rediscovers the Universe".