How can I recognize when a passage shifts from one time period to another?

Compare the passage with the moment you were just reading. A shift may be signaled by a phrase such as “years earlier,” “by sunset,” or “the following winter.” Clues can also be indirect: a character is suddenly younger, a familiar place looks unfinished, or an event that was pending has already happened.

Check time words, verb tense, setting details, and what characters know or are doing. One clue alone can mislead: a tense change might reflect the narrator’s style rather than a move to another period. Ask, “When is this scene happening, and what changed from the previous moment?”

Mark a new point on your timeline when the passage presents action happening at a different time—not just because it mentions an earlier event.

Notice whether the story moves into the past event. If the character thinks, “I still remember the broken blue cup,” while continuing to walk through the present scene, that is a reference to the past, not necessarily a scene shift.

If the writing then shows the character as a child dropping the cup, with actions unfolding in that earlier setting, the story has moved into a flashback. The cue may be direct—“She remembered the afternoon…”—or inferred from age, setting, and events. A memory can introduce a flashback, but mentioning a memory alone does not establish one.

When unsure, note both layers: “present scene: walking home” and “past event mentioned: broken cup.” Add the past event as a separate scene only if the passage narrates it.

Here is an original practice passage:

“On Friday evening, Lena found a brass key beneath the loose porch board. She slipped it into her pocket. Her grandfather had once told her that it opened the greenhouse, back when the glass roof was still whole. The next morning, Lena carried the key to the garden. Before she reached the greenhouse, she remembered the summer she had helped him plant tomatoes there. He had laughed as she buried one seed upside down. Now weeds covered the path, and one greenhouse pane was missing. Lena fitted the key into the lock.”

Separate what happens from what is recalled:

1. Friday evening: Lena finds and pockets the key.
2. Before the current events, date unknown: Her grandfather’s statement refers to a time when the greenhouse roof was whole. The passage does not say exactly when he told her.
3. Saturday morning: “The next morning” anchors Lena’s walk to the garden after Friday evening.
4. An earlier summer: Lena recalls planting tomatoes with her grandfather. The passage mentions the memory but does not develop it into a full scene.
5. Saturday morning, continuing: The overgrown path and missing pane describe the current visit, and Lena tries the key.

Keep the grandfather’s statement as “before Friday; date unknown.” Don’t place it relative to the tomato-planting memory unless the passage gives a clue.

Keep your timeline provisional. Write down what the passage establishes, what it suggests, and what remains unknown. If a character’s age seems to conflict with a time phrase, reread the surrounding sentences and check whether the phrase refers to the scene or to a memory within it.

Calendar dates aren’t necessary. Labels such as “present-day scene,” “earlier childhood memory,” and “later that evening” show the order without claiming more than the text supports. If two events can’t be ordered, list them separately and mark “order unclear” rather than guessing.