How to gloss over a really long period of time...

[Pentagon]

Specifically, I want there to be a point where X character goes into the super time chamber where time passes at 1000th of Earth time or whatever. Slightly more serious but you get the idea.

Now they have an objective, which is to do their training etc. But I'm not really sure how the best way to write 20 years in a chapter is...

Now, I do know that I want to delve into some of the darker and perhaps more sinister elements, possibly some mental health issues rerived from being in a pod for 20 years, as well as other details.

But unlike in a film, I can't just montage it and rely on peoples like for montages...

Anyone got any idea's of doing this in a thorough and interesting way?

 

[The Judge]

If you're writing it from the POV of the character in the chamber, then she won't feel 20 years pass, presumably; she'll just experience however many days/weeks it is, and she'll then emerge into the future world. If you want a sense of time passing, then one way is to have a window so she can see the scientists monitoring her, and she sees them grow older, with different hairstyles, different clothes, putting on weight, going grey etc. Alernatively, have a viewscreen where as part of her training every so often she's given an update on what's happening outside -- so a year's events every week as in an old fashioned newsreel. (I'm sure they would have to do this, so the people training didn't come blind into the future, which would be an even greater mental shock.)

If this is from the POV of one of the monitoring scientists, then have him go about his work, but have a number of discrete scenes within the chapter which are all prefaced with the date as if he is giving a report on what is happening, and show a different year in each scene.

No need to show each passing year, of course. I'd perhaps do every 4th or 5th year so you get jumps of what's gone on.

 

[Pentagon]

Oh sorry, I was unclear- the character is perceiving 20 years- for everyone else it's a week or so

 

[The Judge]

Oh! I did think it was odd that way round. My bad for not checking first!

So does she age 20 years in that time, or is her ageing process stalled in some way? If she does age, then have that part of it -- seeing a first grey hair, and that kind of thing. If she isn't ageing, then it's going to be a more cerebral matter. How is time shown? There won't be any external clues like sunrise, so is there a clock counting the years? Does she keep a diary of any kind?

Again, though, I would have discrete scenes and time jumps and if she does have a diary (which again I think is something the psychologists would recommend) you could have something like "To those outside it's Thursday morning. For me, this is day 5000. I've now finished with the study of the Chk system and I'm now undergoing Torsionality." and then see the Torsionality stuff. Work out what the important stages of her training are, and how she is assessed, and get those in, with just small reminders that time is passing, but as time goes on, bring her mental condition more to the fore.

Sounds interesting anyway. Good luck with it!

 

[Biskit]

Is there only a single character in the pod, or a group? If a single character, then you definitely have some mental health issues to explore as this would essentially be someone in solitary confinement. As I understand it, most people cut off from all interaction with other people go more than just a little bit nuts - we're a social species and don't do well in isolation for extended periods.

The training objective might help to maintain some semblance of sanity, but on the other hand isolation might make it difficult to sustain the necessary dedication to the training.

Even if you have multiple characters in the pod, with a timescale of twenty years group relationships and dynamics would be bound to shift.

This has a more than passing resonance for me as I have been alternating with the Biskitetta working away from home for the last nine months or more. We both found that after a week away with little outside contact and just the work to do, we got a bit strange.

 

[The Big Peat]

What The Judge said in post 4.

 

[SpacePixie]

I think it would be interesting to show what happens to the character when he or she interacts with or observes a loved one (child, lover,parent, etc.). The visitors could come to see the MC and show grief as they watch the main character aging before their eyes. The main character can try to comfort their loved one even as they are breaking down emotionally. This would be even stranger if the visitor is a son or daughter, because the MC is still missing their childhood somewhat, and also it would be confusing and frightening to explain the aging to the child. Or to have the MC grow older than their mother or father between visits. How intense would that be?