Choose when the reader learns each fact

1 · Learn

Narrative order need not match event order. A flashback can explain a present reaction, while withheld information can create uncertainty. Signal time shifts clearly enough that readers can reconstruct the sequence.

Read this original model: The bell rang. Ivo dropped the cup. Last winter, the same sound had announced the flood. Now the corridor was dry, but his hands would not stop shaking. The past event explains the present response without changing the current setting.

2 · Worked example

'Last winter' introduces the memory and 'Now' returns us to the dry corridor. The contrast helps readers understand Ivo's fear.

3 · Your turn

Which two time signals guide the shift out of and back into the present?

4 · Apply your learning

Write a short scene with one purposeful memory and revise any ambiguous time reference.