In a recent post, September Fawkes discusses how to process the change that has occurred in your story with then and now scenes. “Then vs. Now scenes are pretty much what they sound like,” she writes. “They are usually a pair of scenes, one at the beginning of the story and one at the end, that illustrate how things have changed (or less commonly, haven’t changed).”
These scenes usually illustrate the protagonist’s character arc. Your hero has begun in one state or with one belief, and your final scene shows how the status quo has changed. But there are more uses to the bookend scenes. “Then vs. Now scenes can be used to show an infinite number of things–how a character has aged, how a character has mastered a skill, how an occupation is the same, how a setting has changed, how a best friend continues to be a scoundrel,” Fawkes says.
You also aren’t limited to 2 scenes. A middle scene can help bridge the gap between then and now, and show your hero’s evolution. “These scenes also don’t have to strictly show up at the beginning and end,” Fawkes notes. “One could be at the beginning of Act I and at the close of Act I, or at two different places in the middle.”
