Writing How to handle 20 year montage

[Hads]

I'm planning to have a chapter span 20 years with not too much happening, what I'm debating though is how to handle it. The book is a first person perspective of an invisible observer.

This will be largely watching a child grow up from year 0 and become an adult in a medieval style village set in a fantasy world.

I have a few ideas:
- Change perspective to someone else and list diary entries
- Have the observer make notes on the anniversary of some event of what happened through the year

Any other ideas? Or thoughts on those ideas?

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Carefully

 

[LiteraryWho]

I'm planning to have a chapter span 20 years with not too much happening, what I'm debating though is how to handle it. The book is a first person perspective of an invisible observer.

This will be largely watching a child grow up from year 0 and become an adult in a medieval style village set in a fantasy world.

I have a few ideas:
- Change perspective to someone else and list diary entries
- Have the observer make notes on the anniversary of some event of what happened through the year

Any other ideas? Or thoughts on those ideas?

Don't overthink it. Just literally do a chapter break, and briefly summarize what happened in the preceding twenty years. It could be as simple as, "I grew up." If anything interesting happens in that time, set aside a chapter for it.

 

[Racosharko]

My dyslexic-ass thought you wrote "How to handle 20 year mortgage"...

 

[JayMark]

I thought this was "How to Handle 20 year Mortgage"

There go my finances....


I would just do a time skip. Make sure such a break happens at the start of a new volume or at least a chapter change.

Edit: Great Minds.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Make 3-5 short stories, maybe 2-4 paragraphs each, of something 'significant' that happens at different ages. It doesn't need to be critical for your story, but helps show how your MC has become who they are.

Do they have trust issues? Show him being lied to a few times or betrayed by siblings or friends,

Are they kind? Show them volunteering helping a neighbour or in the community.

Are they athletic? Win a sports competition maybe...

You have options with a 20 year skip other than;

20 Years Later...

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The invisible first person observer seems like a good idea but isn't always. Even worse is the SECOND person invisible observer (E. R. Eddings kind of did this is The Worm Ouroboros).
But for the given case, don't montage it. Have the observer inform the reader that he's only going to focus on the interesting parts and then narrate those parts, with "And some time passed before the next time our new little friend did anything relevant or interesting..."