Background
Asked by Peter on November 4, 2020
Hi Jerry,
From previous information I am having difficulty regarding a scene which is in the past. Can you introduce it as a scene set 10 years earlier? I note with Les Edgerton and Michael Conelly they state "Seven years earlier or title 1978. From the course YNBP and guild notes you appear to dislike this form as it is like information dumping. I had originally placed this at the beginning, and although important to the whole story, it interferes with putting the hero in trouble. I am now minded to use the scene in its original format but need to tell the reader its out of sequence. As the reader therefore we are living a story, then this scene as information to store, and then at the end the history becomes clear.
Regards
Peter UK
Looking forward to the Scrivener Webinar.
Jerry's Answer
Yes, Peter, it has become popular to simply start a new chapter with a date and location tag, flush left and italicized before the first paragraph, and tell a past incident in real time. In fact I like and use this technique often.