What do you think about the start of my story? Question?

Question

I had just recently posted the start to my story about a half an hour ago. So basically what it is about is an older man all alone in a log cabin thinking about the worst day of his life. And what I would like to do is have him go to sleep and wake up 20 years or so into the past back to that day and tell the story from there. Im just not sure as to how about I would word such a transition...

Answer 1

I'd try using present tense for when he is in his log cabin. Then when he wakes up in the past, used past tense.

Answer 2

Write in present tense for the present, then maybe mention an old clock on the mantle that he looked at right before he fell asleep. When you are back in time, mention the clock again, but it's brand new and he just put it up there.
You could also do that with a dog (very old dog, puppy).
Use past-perfect tense during the flashback, "he had been... she had been", etc. EXAMPLE: "One autumn night, five years before, they had been walking down the street when the leaves were falling, and they came to a place where there were not trees and the sidewalk was white with moonlight. They stopped here and turned toward each other." (The Great Gatsby)
Flashbacks should be temporary and you should bring the reader back to the present so the story can keep going.

Answer 3

The old man was sitting alone in the dark. He had been in
the same chair all day, thinking about the worst day of his life.
It had been snowing all day and was getting cold and he
knew that he was going to have to shovel his way out to
reach the woodpile so he could have a fire. When he returned,
he piled the wood up on the hearth, started a fire and then
went to get a shot of whiskey. Soon he fell into a restless
sleep in his chair.
The next morning, he opened his eyes and saw the rays
of the sun shining through the small windows of his cabin.
Surprised, he got up and looked out. All the snow had
dissapeared and there were flowers in the meadow outside.
Confused, he opened his door and saw the old Ford he had
sold twenty years before parked outside.