the little things

[DomLuka]

Just curious about how people prefer to write when it comes to

[Benji]

Just curious about how people prefer to write when it comes to "time." I notice a lot of day to day writing out there. Sometimes even hour to hour

[corvus]

If the details help develop the relationship and the story, then include them by all means. But if they're fillerish... I don't think they'd be too necessary. But it's your judgment call, and we trust your judgment.

[Graeme]

I know the problem, Dom, because I have the same issue at times. As an author, you go through in great detail, time wise, when a relationship starts (for example), but then need to move it forward.

 

The best time for a jump forward is usually at a chapter break. You just need to indicate very early on that there's been a jump in time....

 

"You know, I can't believe it's only been a month since we met. It seems so much longer," Matt said as the two guys waited for the bus.

 

Brett shrugged. "What can I say? We've packed in a lot of fun into that time."

 

<<insert short, one paragraph, summary of some of the things they've done together>>

Doing it that way seems to alleviate the discontinuity that a reader may otherwise experience with the time jump.

 

On the question of missing out on things, if the start of the relationship is well detailed, the reader will be able to fill in the gaps themselves as to how the people usually fill in their time. eg. They go out every Saturday afternoon to watch a game, then back on one of their houses to play some online games, followed by... er... something-or-rather.

 

Skimping on the details early on isn't a good idea, but once the characters and their interaction has been established, the reader will have a good feel for what they'll be doing during any 'missing' time in the story.

 

Just my view, and, since this is what I'm doing in my current novel, I hope it's right....

[Cynical Romantic]

Wow, it really depends on the story. I've read great books and novels where there were literally jumps of years between scenes and chapters. On the other hand, I read a book once that was over 900 pages and all took place in the space of a single day.

 

There's no single answer to this; there can't be. It depends on the plot, the setting, the tone, and what you're trying to accomplish and the story you're trying to tell.

 

The one thing I hate is when superfluous details get added to a story - that so-called "filler" - simply because the author doesn't give the readers enough credit to fill in those details themselves. I took a screenwriting class once where the professor talked about the "rule of three", namely, if a detail in your screenplay doesn't serve at least three different purposes, it belongs on the editing room floor. Of course, with screenwriting, there's more pressure to be economical, but I think that rule works well in novels and novellas, too. We can assume that most characters will brush their teeth and go to the bathroom a few times a day; we usually don't need that spelled out. Of course, if you're trying to demonstrate how an OCD character who brushes his teeth a dozen times a day winds up fighting with his boyfriends because of his disorder, then the teeth brushing becomes an important detail serving multiple purposes, and belongs in the story.

 

Sometimes, allowing readers to imagine the missing details and fill in the blanks can be richer than spelling them all out for them. It's the same as hinting at something instead of spelling it out.

 

Ultimately I'd say it comes down to a question of pacing - striking the right balance that keeps the readers turning pages but also allows them to savour what's on each page. That's where beta readers can be helpful, in my experience.

[DomLuka]

Thanks for all the input. Interesting points to think on... and I hope I

[KJames]

Thanks for all the input. Interesting points to think on... and I hope I'm doing it, right, too. I think the only way to know for sure is to reread it and try to feel it out on my own, but unfortunately I've found that sometimes a reader's perspective can be a lot different than the authors. As for Beta readers, I've had different experiences with those, too. But something to think on.

 

From all I've read, both here and in print, time is usually a continuous progression forward. If there's a need for a history lesson, it's usually done as a memory flashback, and so--easily readable in the context.

 

BTW, nice to see you back!

 

Then, again...something of a lead in such as:

 

(Tick) He jumped into the cool water of the lake from the swimming platform, coming up from beneath Ryan, letting his chest rub the front of Ryan's speedo... (Tick) He suddenly realized he could smell bacon, and thought it odd, that Ryan should smell like bacon when he's wet. (Tick) He also realized he needed to take a leak. (Tick)

 

His alarm went off, jarring him awake, and he opened his eyes to realize that his curtains had been left open all night, blinding him momentarily, and as he sat up he reached out to shut off his alarm clock--wishing as he did so that he had a clock radio instead.

 

-----

 

Provides for an in-line transition from a dream-time to real-time progression, but can also be used to fill in some (sometimes interesting, or embarrassing) details.

Edited November 29, 2008 by kjames

[Krista]

I am most comfortable writing from day to day, I've only skipped through time on one Anthology story and that gave me a headache. I did find it a useful thing to learn how to do, but I was worried that my characters wouldn't be as enjoyed because readers wouldn't have as much time to get to know them. But, I felt that writing in brief scenes to fill some of the skipped time did help ease my worries at least. I think skipping through periods of time, one has to develop their characters more carefully and a bit stronger than writing in the day to day style.

 

As for me and my writing, I doubt I'll want to skip around in stories.

[jfalkon]

I know the feeling. Should I skipp this day or not? My rule of thumb is this: I go back and read what I wrote. If I am boaring myself then it must be useless filler.

[C James]

I know the feeling. Should I skipp this day or not? My rule of thumb is this: I go back and read what I wrote. If I am boaring myself then it must be useless filler.

 

Great point!

 

I think that much depends on the type of story, too. In the case of mine, they are plot-driven, so I have no alternative but to skip time (If nothing relevant to the plot is happening for a couple of weeks, I have no choice). I often need to skip ahead during a chapter, not just during the chapter breaks.

 

I usually do something along the lines of... "By Tuesday morning, everything was ready; it was time to get started. blah, blah, blah." There are many variants (I try to avoid repeating the same method too often).

 

Generally, IMHO, this can be done with ease *if* you do so throughout the story. Writing the first part day-by-day and then suddenly leaping ahead can be a bit jarring to some readers.

 

CJ

[David McLeod]

Cynical Romantic

[Linxe Termoil]

Wow, reading this topic now is starting to answer some of my questions, I was going to add a new topic discussion but this one looks like it'll work.

 

 

Generally, IMHO, this can be done with ease *if* you do so throughout the story. Writing the first part day-by-day and then suddenly leaping ahead can be a bit jarring to some readers.

 

CJ

 

 

 

I'm in the process of writing Sunny's Angel, and so far the 1st chapter concerns a bit of an intro and the afternoon, 2nd chapter concerns the evening, and 3rd chapter concerns after dinner and late that night, and the 4th chapter will consist of most of the next day, jumping certain points in time as I move from one character perspective to another character perspective.

 

The character perspectives are also a concern for me because I'm afraid that if I keep jumping from one character perspective to another that it'll turn off the few people who are reading my story, and then I have the concern that I have to introduce some minor characters that are playing a small role to allow people to get a better feel for Devin, and people may not like that either. (Is this making sense?)

 

Is doing things like this acceptable, because I'm gonna have to start jumping points in time, but am not sure how to go about doing that, while fleshing out relationships for my characters. So far for a story I feel I've done ago, but it's those "fillers" that I am needing to develop relationships between characters that I am lacking and I'm not quite sure what to do. Anyone have any ideas???

[Graeme]

I'm in the process of writing Sunny's Angel, and so far the 1st chapter concerns a bit of an intro and the afternoon, 2nd chapter concerns the evening, and 3rd chapter concerns after dinner and late that night, and the 4th chapter will consist of most of the next day, jumping certain points in time as I move from one character perspective to another character perspective.

You can get away with a lot because readers are remarkably forgiving Having an intense (time-wise) start, and then jumping ahead to the next major point is done in lots of novels. The best place to do that jump is generally when starting a new chapter and then simply give an indication that time has gone past, and what (if anything) happened during that period.

 

The character perspectives are also a concern for me because I'm afraid that if I keep jumping from one character perspective to another that it'll turn off the few people who are reading my story, and then I have the concern that I have to introduce some minor characters that are playing a small role to allow people to get a better feel for Devin, and people may not like that either. (Is this making sense?)

Perspective changes can turn some readers off. I know of a few authors who consider this to be a major negative if it's a first person story, but I've seen it done by professional authors, too, so I'm not as critical as some. However, my recommendation is that if it is first person narrative, don't change perspective except in exceptional circumstances. Two cases where I've seen it done and it fitted the story were in Robert Heinlein's Podkayme of Mars where the story was essential Podkayme's diary, and her younger brother kept writing extra bits in invisible ink, and in another story where the lead character was knocked unconscious and another character picked up the story, saying they had to complete it because the lead character wasn't able to do so. In both cases the story was being treated as a document within the story universe that the narrator was writing, rather than a document that only exists in this world.

 

As for adding minor characters to play a role in developing other characters, authors do that all the time. Don't worry about it. I know I've done it many times myself Sometimes the minor character pushes themselves forward and makes a bigger impact than originally intended -- that's part of the joy of writing

 

Is doing things like this acceptable, because I'm gonna have to start jumping points in time, but am not sure how to go about doing that, while fleshing out relationships for my characters. So far for a story I feel I've done ago, but it's those "fillers" that I am needing to develop relationships between characters that I am lacking and I'm not quite sure what to do. Anyone have any ideas???

 

If you have something interesting to put in as a filler, then go for it. If all you want is a filler to fill in time, then use a chapter start to jump ahead. If you're uncomfortable with too big a gap, then find something to fill in some of the time and put it part way through the gap, not immediately after the preceding part. As long as you don't bore your readers trying to fill in the gap because you feel that the gap needs to be filled, you'll be okay.

[Lugh]

I think that deciding where to skip time is one place an outline (or timeline) really helps. This way you can see where the action is and the parts that can be skipped with minimal comment. This also helps you to keep up with WHERE multiple characters are in time. As to the how of it... a comment on the time of day, the angle of the sun (or moon), the act of waking up, going to sleep, or eating a meal... or commenting on doing something that is not "normal" for the character (for example: Typically at this time, Peter would be crawling between his own cold sheets, but tonight he was sitting in a car watching Skippy's shadow dance across the window shade, wishing he could get the nerve up to....)

 

Hope that helps...