How to write a story that spans decades
I'm looking for techniques to write a fantasy story (A song of ice and fire style) but the problem is the duration of the story :
The first three years there are lot of plots, and betrayals.
After that a good lord rules the kingdom, in his reign nothing special happens, the plots against the king stop and everything is ok.
After his death the plots and betrayals resume
So the question is how can I skip the twenty years of his reign, mentioning just the important stuff without confusing readers?
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Skip the peaceful period. If there's no conflict, there's nothing to write about. Go to "Part II" of your book.
Open with the characters having a party to celebrate two decades of peace. In the middle of the celebratory dinner, the bad guy drops a piano on the king, and the war is back on.
I second the answers that suggest skipping the peaceful years. Work with book parts or sequels.
Part I - Before King X
Part II - After King X
You just have to figure out what works best with your length of story.
Use the first three years for Part I. Part II begins with the notation: Twenty years later...
Then use "flashback" scenes in Part II to catch the odd event of note that might have taken place between the two parts.
Start the thing in medias res, in mid-action. Then flash back. At least, that's what Aristotle advised in his Poetics. Although it is more than 2000 years old, it still has great advice for writers today.
The "goto part 2" idea doesn't take much.
For example, let's use the legend of King Arthur, who as a boy pulled Excalibur from the stone, etc. and have him be maybe 10-11 years old. Hooray Arthur, "end of chapter 8"
You could have Part II-Ten Years later, etc. but you could also simply say
Chapter 9: Title...
Ten years had passed, during which time Arthur grew from a boy to a man. Merlin taught him many wise things about how to rule a kingdom, but the fact of the matter, Arthur was really king in name only, and that just in his castle with the forebearance of older and wiser men who chose not to challenge his claim.
Outside the castle walls, however.....
...and you're off and writing after the peaceful period when Arthur has to go create Camelot, conquer the rest of merry old England or whatever.
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