How to Deal with Time Distortions in Your Writing
Guest post by Janice GillgrenOur perception of time is strongly affected by how much activity is fitted into a particular period of time. This is helpful to remember when writing.
Recently, I was able to enjoy a working holiday with my husband Mark in New Caledonia. We were there for 3 ½ weeks, with all of the work done (shearing sheep) within the first 3 weeks. The last four days were spent in or near Noumea.
If someone had told us, as we enjoyed our last few days in Noumea, that we had been in New Caledonia for six weeks, not three, we would have believed it. Why? Because we had travelled so much, done so much, and met so many people. All that activity had distorted time for us.
The same can be seen when writing. Whole books are sometimes written about a short space of time - perhaps only a day - because so much can happen in that space of time. For example, half of the Gospel of John is about the last few days of Jesus' life; but about 300 years are skipped between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New.
Some sagas can span generations of families, and many years can pass. How do you handle this?
• Action is what keeps people reading. To use a camera analogy - zoom in on the action; zoom out on the quiet periods.
• Zooming out doesn't mean losing the plot. It just means that you take a broader view.
• Take as much time as you need on the action, but beware of filling in with too much descriptive prose that could perhaps fill the quieter sections of your book instead.
• Dialogue can be considered a form of action. Through dialogue, action can be told, and your characters' reactions can reveal more of the story.
• When you have quieter spaces, where weeks, months or even years may pass with little action that is relevant to your story, be sure to take your reader with you. That is, tell your reader that you are moving forward, why, and what is different in the new era you are moving on to.
• When resuming action, be sure your reader knows the context, and how things may have changed for the characters during the gap.
Time is interesting, really. While it moves forward strictly chronologically, our perception of it differs - but this is perfectly normal, and what makes a story interesting.
Do you need help to write better? Do you want some inspiration to put your thoughts into words? Could you do with some encouragement to develop your writing skills?
Click here to visit http://www.wordsandscenes.co.nz by Janice Gillgren. The blog on this site offers inspiration, encouragement and useful tips to writers at all levels.
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