Events happening in two places in one short story? [closed]
Closed by System on Oct 5, 2016 at 20:02
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Events happening in two places in one short story?
Is this ethical to happen in one short story (craftwise) or is it unprofessional to break the linear flow?
Eg: A wakes up thinks, wait get dressed and leave to place X. In place X a bunch of characters discuss an issue and character A walks in to learn the conclusion.
''I have never heard that the events in a short story must all take place in the same location.''
Can events in a short story happen (in the latter half of the story) without, in the absence of the protagonist?
He enters at the end of the story to learn what has happened to 'B' who just disappeared without a trace. He reminisces his acquaintanceship with B in the first half.
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1 answer
Not only can this happen, it's frequently assumed that it happens. You can't show two sets of events occurring at the same moment textually (unless you're doing some kind of weird formatting, and the reader can't read them simultaneously anyway), so you write about one set of events and then the other. Your time cues will advise the reader if events in Location X are before, during, or after events in Location Y. Having A get dressed and travel to Location Y and come in at the end of the conversation is an excellent way of showing simultaneous events in written sequence. You're totally fine.
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