okay so i'm writing young adult stuff and im having trouble joining up one part of a story i wrote to start with then i decided to start the story off from when the character is younger. but now im getting so i just want to join it up from what ive written in the younger age... argghh its hard! my mind just cant figure out a way that isnt short and shit (excuse the language) .... i dont want to just put "and time passed" lol thats just lame. so any tips? i mean, i will what ive written so far and tell me how i could fast forward to when she turns 18.
i'd be grateful for ANY help i can get! thanks
x

Katheryn, can't you just drop the back story in as you go along so that you are telling the story forward but occasionally adding a piece of the jigsaw from the character's past?

hm yeah i suppose. some of the second part of story does include explanations of some parts like between ages 16 and 18 but i just feel if i skip to the second part that it wont make sense.

I would just write it and then come back at the end of the first draft and decide on the best place to start it.
If it's YA then there are the constraints on the main characer's age - it's best to make then in the mid-teen age range to suit your young-mid-teen readership - so start the story there.