June 4, 2024 • 18 mins
Show and tell your readers why time matters to your characters.
Time matters.
When you look up and it’s dark outside, time matters to you.
When your characters look around and summer is turning into fall, time matters to them.
When your readers are reading a novel and they can’t figure out how time is passing? Well, time matters to them, too—mostly because they’re confused.
In this episode, I’m sharing two ways to make time matter to your readers the way it matters to your characters.
That is, how to make time matter because it impacts your characters’ lives. (And not because your readers can’t get a grip on what’s happening in your story.)
You’ll learn:
- How to blend showing and telling (it’s a spectrum, not a binary)
- 2 techniques to convey time passing using showing and telling
- How to choose which calendars to use in your story
- And more!
Your readers want to understand why time matters to your characters. Show and tell them, and they’ll feel it passing just as your characters do.
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Ep. 70: Why You Must Show Time Passing in Your Novel
- Ep. 71: 3 “Telling” Ways to Convey Time Passing in Your Novel
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Get started by telling me about your story here.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
More than anything.
(00:01):
We want to know what the passageof time means to your
characters.
And when you mark the passing oftime with specific events in
your story, you create theperfect opportunity for us to
tap into that meaning.
(00:47):
Welcome to your next draft.
Today, we're talking about time.
Some more Specifically, we'retalking about techniques.
You can use that blend showingand telling.
So you can convey time passingin your novel in a way that's
meaningful to your readers.
This is the third episode in ourseries on time.
So if you haven't got the firstcouple of episodes, it's going
(01:09):
to be worth heading back tothose to give them a listen.
After you finished this one.
In episode 70, we looked at whyit's so important to convey the
passage of time.
And what happens if you don't.
In episode 71, we looked at someways to tell your readers that
time is passing.
That is telling ways ofconveying the passage of time.
(01:30):
You'll definitely want to usesome of those telling techniques
in your story since they triggeryour readers.
Intellectual, knowing the timehas passed.
Every story needs its ownbalance of showing and telling.
And sometimes you just need totell us what time it is.
But telling alone isn't enough.
In order for your readers tofeel time passing the way that
(01:51):
your characters do.
You'll need to show time passingas well.
So I've got more techniques toshare with you that go beyond
telling to show your readers.
The time is passing.
In this series, I'm sharingseven techniques to convey the
passage of time to your readers.
I've ordered them from mosttelling to most showing.
And in episode 71, we coveredall the techniques that are
(02:12):
strictly telling.
The thing is though these seventechniques aren't really on a
binary of showing versus tellingthey're more on a spectrum.
On one end, there's exclusivelytelling information that has no
emotional impact on the readerwhatsoever.
And on the other end, there'sexclusively showing information
that has all this unconsciousimplicit emotional impact.
(02:36):
But that alone might not beenough to cognitively orient
your reader in your story.
And then in the middle, there'ssome techniques that sort of
blend the two.
They're a bit of a mix betweenthat knowing and that feeling.
So today I'm going to pick upwhere we left off and I'll cover
two techniques that are in themiddle of that telling versus
showing spectrum.
(02:56):
I have a lot to say about bothof them.
So I'll save my two techniquesthat are strictly showing for
the next episode.
First, I want to recap the threetelling techniques.
So you can see all thesetechniques and contexts and get
that bigger picture of thespectrum.
The first telling technique isto use numbers or dates to mark
your chapters, like a datajournal entry, or a countdown to
(03:18):
an important event.
The second is to literally sayhow much time has passed within
the text of the story.
Something like three weekslater.
And the third is to literallysay the date, whether that's the
day or the month or somethingelse, this might sound like on
Friday.
Or by January, he still hadn'theard from her.
(03:40):
So those are all the tellingtechniques that we've already
covered.
You can see how in those threetechniques, we start with
factual data that have noemotional associations
whatsoever.
And we gradually move towardsdetails that have more implicit,
emotional associations.
Now, let's take this a stepfurther and dig into two more
techniques that blend tellingand showing.
(04:03):
First up technique.
Number one.
Mention something seasonal.
This could be a holiday ortradition like Christmas, which
is a Christian holiday thathappens on December 25th.
Or Memorial day, which is afederal holiday that we just
acknowledged here in the UnitedStates.
Or it might be something elsethat occurs at a specific time
of the year.
(04:24):
I love strawberries.
So every April and may and June,I'm on the hunt for strawberries
at farmer's markets andopportunities to go strawberry
picking.
And that's my friends.
Well, no, because I talk aboutthis more than they have any
interest in.
I do not buy strawberries out ofseason.
So April and may and June arepretty exciting months for me.
(04:44):
Anyway, before I go on a rantabout how to find a great
strawberry, let's get back toholidays and traditions, because
there's more to say here.
One example of using holidaysand traditions to mark time
comes from funny story by EmilyHenry.
We know that the first chapteris set on May 1st because all
the chapters are dated.
So we know exactly wheneverything happens.
(05:06):
This is a great example of thatfirst telling technique of using
numbers or dates to mark yourchapters.
But maybe this is just me, butonce I get into a story, I kind
of gloss over chapter headingsand just skim them on the way to
the story.
So it's easy for me to miss thatmetadata entirely.
And remember, even when readersdo take note of it, it's
entirely telling and doesn'thave any emotional feeling
(05:29):
attached to it.
So later on in the story, EmilyHenry gives us more clues that
time is passing.
A few chapters in, she mentionsthat Juneteenth and pride month
are coming up.
And I know that those are bothin June.
So I know that we've made it tothe end of may and are heading
into June.
How should you choose whichholidays dimension?
(05:49):
Use calendars that are relevantto your characters so that the
passage of time is filteredthrough their experience.
Even more.
Juneteenth and pride month orrelevant to Daphne the
protagonist.
A funny story because she's alibrarian in Michigan and she
updates the book displays eachmonth, depending on what topics
the library is highlighting.
A character who lives in adifferent country or who
(06:11):
practices a specific religion orwho is part of a different
culture will probably recognizedifferent holidays.
I do want to note here that ifyou're using holidays or
traditions to mark the passageof time, and you think there may
be readers in your audience whowill be unfamiliar with them,
you get to choose whether you'dlike to explain them in your
story.
Or let your readers figure itout on their own.
(06:32):
If you're writing a fantasynovel where you've built a whole
world with its own calendar andits own traditions and
celebrations, we'll definitelyneed some context in order to
appreciate all of that.
Along with your characters.
We just don't have access tothat world outside of your
story.
And some of the appeal is ingetting to immerse ourselves
entirely in this new world.
But if you're writing a novelwhere you're using real holidays
(06:55):
and traditions, that yourreaders could be familiar with.
It's up to you, whether you'dlike to explain them or not.
For instance, maybe you'rewriting a novel with an Indian
character who celebrates Devale.
Your character knows that Devalehappens in October or November.
And so when Devale is coming up,she knows, that means where
sometime in the fall.
I personally don't celebrateDevale and don't know much about
(07:16):
it, but I have the capacity toput in the legwork to look it up
myself and learn something new.
I'd encourage you to think aboutyour readers and the experience
that you want them to have.
If you think your readersprobably won't know about an
element of culture, you mightdecide to put in more details to
help them fill in their gaps ofknowledge.
But there's also a lot of valuein not treating your story as
though it has a responsibilityto educate your readers.
(07:39):
After all your characters don'tneed to be educated on the
holidays and traditions andcultural practices that are
second nature to them.
And so they probably, aren'tgoing to take a moment for
internal monologues to explainto themselves what Devale is.
When you filter the informationthrough your characters and the
details that are relevant tothem, you allow us as readers to
experience the characters vibesas though we are them living
(08:01):
their lives to.
Not as though we're outside ourstudents attending a cultural
presentation.
And if we readers get confused,well, that's what Google is for.
We can educate ourselves.
All that to say.
Mentioned seasonal events likeholidays and traditions to give
us markers of time.
And choose the events that youmentioned based on the events
that are relevant to yourcharacters.
(08:23):
I'll mention one more superuseful calendar before we move
on.
If your story is set at a schoolor include school aged
characters, the school calendaris an excellent marker of time.
It's a pretty universalcalendar.
All school calendars havedifferent specific dates, but we
all know that school calendarshave rhythms of semesters or
terms that are interspersed withbreaks.
(08:46):
And that they're all leading upto the end of the school year.
When we take a break for summerand the class moves up a grade.
And of course at the end of highschool and college there's
graduation, the really big eventon the school calendar, which
typically happens in the spring.
The school calendar is afantastic way to mark time while
rarely needing to mention dates,especially because of your
(09:06):
characters are in school.
They're pretty much alwayslooking forward to the next
break.
So you might want to orient usevery now and then, So that we
know when your school calendaris really set and where these
breaks fall in the month storein the seasons.
But when you have that schoolcalendar and remark time with,
we really will feel time passingthe way that your characters do.
So that's tip number one,mentioned something seasonal.
(09:30):
And that's a great segue intotip.
Number two mentioned futureevents.
The idea here is to mentionevents that are coming up later
in the story.
I'll take that funny storyexample again.
Juneteenth and pride month arementioned in passing they're
indicators of where we are inthe year, but they're not events
that are part of the plot of thestory.
(09:51):
But there is an event thathappens towards the end of the
novel and events that theprotagonist is heavily involved
in.
And that she's basing a lot oflife decisions around.
And that event is mentionedearly on.
I won't tell you what it is justbecause this book came out so
recently That I would definitelybe spoiling it for some readers
who haven't gotten their handson it yet.
But what's worth knowing is thatthis is an event that happens in
(10:13):
the plot.
And Emily Henry tells us fairlyearly on in the story that it's
coming.
And then we measure time againstthat event as it gets closer and
closer and finally happens.
Another example of this comesfrom the truth about forever by
Sarah desen in the truth aboutforever.
The protagonist's mom runs aconstruction company that builds
housing developments.
(10:35):
At the beginning of the novel,there's an open house to
celebrate breaking ground on anew row of townhouses.
And then a few chapters later.
Uh, we learned that she's alsoplanning a gala that will happen
at the end of the summer whenconstruction of the townhouses
is complete.
So we know a few things.
The gala is happening at the endof the summer.
And it's a big event thatmatters to the protagonist.
(10:57):
When she's thinking about theend of summer, she's not just
thinking about cooler weather inthe fall or even school starting
back up.
She's thinking about this galathat she's going to be attending
and what it will mean for hermom to finish this major project
that she's pouring all of herenergy into.
This technique of mentioningfuture events that are coming up
in your story is highlyimpactful on several levels.
(11:19):
First, it gives you somethingstory relevant to use to mark
time.
You're not just telling us abouttime.
You're telling us aboutsomething that's very plot
relevant to your story.
June and July and August areuniversal, which is great
because we all know what theymean, but they also don't attach
us to your story specifically.
(11:39):
The gala at the end of thesummer allows us to use the
actual events of the story tokeep track of time.
Second, this createsforward-looking tension.
Back in episode 70, the firstepisode in the series, I talked
about how marking time is anopportunity to create tension in
your story.
When you tell us about somethingthat's coming up, that hasn't
(12:00):
happened yet.
You create forward-lookingtension where we get to
anticipate something coming upand wonder what will happen when
we get there.
We have to keep turning thepages because Emily Henry told
us about this big, mysteriousthing that Daphne's looking
forward to.
And we have to know what's goingto happen when it gets here and
what Daphne is going to do.
And third.
(12:20):
This filters, the passing oftime through the specific ways
that your character experiencesit.
More than anything.
We want to know what the passageof time means to your
characters.
And when you mark the passing oftime with specific events in
your story, you create theperfect opportunity for us to
tap into that meaning.
(12:40):
That gala is at the end of thesummer, but it's not just a sign
that may see the protagonist isgoing back to school.
When Macy thinks of the gala, weget to see what the end of the
summer means to her.
For her.
It's a cue that her summer jobworking for a chaotic catering
company will end.
She'll no longer be in thisliminal space where perfection
isn't expected and mistakes aretaken in stride, a space where
(13:03):
she's made new friends andstarted to relax and heal.
The gala is also about how sherelates to her mom.
Macy's mom has been carryingenormous pressure to get the
townhouses constructed perfectlyand on time.
And Macy is scared that thestress might crush her mom
before they're finished.
And she's scared of what her momis going to do once that
pressure is lifted and shedoesn't have that project to
(13:25):
ground her.
So the gala does a whole lot ofthings at once.
Whenever it's referenced, we getanother indicator of how much
time has passed and how closethe gala is now.
And whenever it's referenced, weget to see through Macy's eyes,
the hopes and fears that shefeels as that milestone date
creeps closer.
In short.
(13:46):
It makes time matter to thereader in the way that time
matters to the character.
Do you see how these techniquesfall in the middle of that
showing versus telling spectrumthat I mentioned at the
beginning.
The first technique is to marktime by mentioning something
seasonal.
Whether it's ChristmasJuneteenth, Devale, graduation,
or strawberry picking.
And the second technique is tomark time by mentioning future
(14:09):
events that will happen in theplot and matter to the
characters.
These techniques do haveelements of telling because they
are in a way stating objectivemeasurements of time.
But they also have elements ofshowing Because they're
conveying the effects.
The time passing has on yourcharacter and on their world.
They carry meaning beyond justtheir place on the calendar.
(14:31):
That second technique,especially the one where you
mentioned future events, createstension and emphasizes the
things that matter to yourcharacter and the emotions your
character feels about them.
And you can do all of thissimply by mentioning these
markers of time.
Like I mentioned in the episodeof telling techniques, you don't
have to use any of thesetechniques in isolation.
(14:52):
In fact, I highly encourage youto use a mix of many techniques.
One or two of the tellingtechniques, One or two of these
telling, showing mixedtechniques and one or two of the
showing techniques that we'lltalk about in the next episode.
When you use them incombination, you'll enable your
readers to consciouslyintellectually follow along with
the timeline of the story whilealso allowing them to experience
(15:14):
the pace of the story in the waythat your characters do.
So, if you haven't listened tothe last couple of episodes in
the series, head back to thoseto listen now.
And keep an eye out for the nextepisode for the showing
techniques.
There's some forward-lookingtension for you.
The things that are coming next.
In the meantime, you know whatyour assignment is?
First pick up a book that youlove and read a few chapters to
(15:37):
see if you can spot either ofthese techniques.
Where does the story mentionsomething seasonal and where
does it mention an upcomingevent in the plot?
And second open your work inprogress and see whether you're
using either of thesetechniques.
Think about your characters andwhat calendars or events matter
to them, how do they keep trackof time?
(15:57):
And be sure to catch the nextepisode of your next draft
coming to you in a couple ofweeks.
Until then.
Happy editing.
More than anything.
(00:01):
We want to know what the passageof time means to your
characters.
And when you mark the passing oftime with specific events in
your story, you create theperfect opportunity for us to
tap into that meaning.
(00:47):
Welcome to your next draft.
Today, we're talking about time.
Some more Specifically, we'retalking about techniques.
You can use that blend showingand telling.
So you can convey time passingin your novel in a way that's
meaningful to your readers.
This is the third episode in ourseries on time.
So if you haven't got the firstcouple of episodes, it's going
(01:09):
to be worth heading back tothose to give them a listen.
After you finished this one.
In episode 70, we looked at whyit's so important to convey the
passage of time.
And what happens if you don't.
In episode 71, we looked at someways to tell your readers that
time is passing.
That is telling ways ofconveying the passage of time.
(01:30):
You'll definitely want to usesome of those telling techniques
in your story since they triggeryour readers.
Intellectual, knowing the timehas passed.
Every story needs its ownbalance of showing and telling.
And sometimes you just need totell us what time it is.
But telling alone isn't enough.
In order for your readers tofeel time passing the way that
(01:51):
your characters do.
You'll need to show time passingas well.
So I've got more techniques toshare with you that go beyond
telling to show your readers.
The time is passing.
In this series, I'm sharingseven techniques to convey the
passage of time to your readers.
I've ordered them from mosttelling to most showing.
And in episode 71, we coveredall the techniques that are
(02:12):
strictly telling.
The thing is though these seventechniques aren't really on a
binary of showing versus tellingthey're more on a spectrum.
On one end, there's exclusivelytelling information that has no
emotional impact on the readerwhatsoever.
And on the other end, there'sexclusively showing information
that has all this unconsciousimplicit emotional impact.
(02:36):
But that alone might not beenough to cognitively orient
your reader in your story.
And then in the middle, there'ssome techniques that sort of
blend the two.
They're a bit of a mix betweenthat knowing and that feeling.
So today I'm going to pick upwhere we left off and I'll cover
two techniques that are in themiddle of that telling versus
showing spectrum.
(02:56):
I have a lot to say about bothof them.
So I'll save my two techniquesthat are strictly showing for
the next episode.
First, I want to recap the threetelling techniques.
So you can see all thesetechniques and contexts and get
that bigger picture of thespectrum.
The first telling technique isto use numbers or dates to mark
your chapters, like a datajournal entry, or a countdown to
(03:18):
an important event.
The second is to literally sayhow much time has passed within
the text of the story.
Something like three weekslater.
And the third is to literallysay the date, whether that's the
day or the month or somethingelse, this might sound like on
Friday.
Or by January, he still hadn'theard from her.
(03:40):
So those are all the tellingtechniques that we've already
covered.
You can see how in those threetechniques, we start with
factual data that have noemotional associations
whatsoever.
And we gradually move towardsdetails that have more implicit,
emotional associations.
Now, let's take this a stepfurther and dig into two more
techniques that blend tellingand showing.
(04:03):
First up technique.
Number one.
Mention something seasonal.
This could be a holiday ortradition like Christmas, which
is a Christian holiday thathappens on December 25th.
Or Memorial day, which is afederal holiday that we just
acknowledged here in the UnitedStates.
Or it might be something elsethat occurs at a specific time
of the year.
(04:24):
I love strawberries.
So every April and may and June,I'm on the hunt for strawberries
at farmer's markets andopportunities to go strawberry
picking.
And that's my friends.
Well, no, because I talk aboutthis more than they have any
interest in.
I do not buy strawberries out ofseason.
So April and may and June arepretty exciting months for me.
(04:44):
Anyway, before I go on a rantabout how to find a great
strawberry, let's get back toholidays and traditions, because
there's more to say here.
One example of using holidaysand traditions to mark time
comes from funny story by EmilyHenry.
We know that the first chapteris set on May 1st because all
the chapters are dated.
So we know exactly wheneverything happens.
(05:06):
This is a great example of thatfirst telling technique of using
numbers or dates to mark yourchapters.
But maybe this is just me, butonce I get into a story, I kind
of gloss over chapter headingsand just skim them on the way to
the story.
So it's easy for me to miss thatmetadata entirely.
And remember, even when readersdo take note of it, it's
entirely telling and doesn'thave any emotional feeling
(05:29):
attached to it.
So later on in the story, EmilyHenry gives us more clues that
time is passing.
A few chapters in, she mentionsthat Juneteenth and pride month
are coming up.
And I know that those are bothin June.
So I know that we've made it tothe end of may and are heading
into June.
How should you choose whichholidays dimension?
(05:49):
Use calendars that are relevantto your characters so that the
passage of time is filteredthrough their experience.
Even more.
Juneteenth and pride month orrelevant to Daphne the
protagonist.
A funny story because she's alibrarian in Michigan and she
updates the book displays eachmonth, depending on what topics
the library is highlighting.
A character who lives in adifferent country or who
(06:11):
practices a specific religion orwho is part of a different
culture will probably recognizedifferent holidays.
I do want to note here that ifyou're using holidays or
traditions to mark the passageof time, and you think there may
be readers in your audience whowill be unfamiliar with them,
you get to choose whether you'dlike to explain them in your
story.
Or let your readers figure itout on their own.
(06:32):
If you're writing a fantasynovel where you've built a whole
world with its own calendar andits own traditions and
celebrations, we'll definitelyneed some context in order to
appreciate all of that.
Along with your characters.
We just don't have access tothat world outside of your
story.
And some of the appeal is ingetting to immerse ourselves
entirely in this new world.
But if you're writing a novelwhere you're using real holidays
(06:55):
and traditions, that yourreaders could be familiar with.
It's up to you, whether you'dlike to explain them or not.
For instance, maybe you'rewriting a novel with an Indian
character who celebrates Devale.
Your character knows that Devalehappens in October or November.
And so when Devale is coming up,she knows, that means where
sometime in the fall.
I personally don't celebrateDevale and don't know much about
(07:16):
it, but I have the capacity toput in the legwork to look it up
myself and learn something new.
I'd encourage you to think aboutyour readers and the experience
that you want them to have.
If you think your readersprobably won't know about an
element of culture, you mightdecide to put in more details to
help them fill in their gaps ofknowledge.
But there's also a lot of valuein not treating your story as
though it has a responsibilityto educate your readers.
(07:39):
After all your characters don'tneed to be educated on the
holidays and traditions andcultural practices that are
second nature to them.
And so they probably, aren'tgoing to take a moment for
internal monologues to explainto themselves what Devale is.
When you filter the informationthrough your characters and the
details that are relevant tothem, you allow us as readers to
experience the characters vibesas though we are them living
(08:01):
their lives to.
Not as though we're outside ourstudents attending a cultural
presentation.
And if we readers get confused,well, that's what Google is for.
We can educate ourselves.
All that to say.
Mentioned seasonal events likeholidays and traditions to give
us markers of time.
And choose the events that youmentioned based on the events
that are relevant to yourcharacters.
(08:23):
I'll mention one more superuseful calendar before we move
on.
If your story is set at a schoolor include school aged
characters, the school calendaris an excellent marker of time.
It's a pretty universalcalendar.
All school calendars havedifferent specific dates, but we
all know that school calendarshave rhythms of semesters or
terms that are interspersed withbreaks.
(08:46):
And that they're all leading upto the end of the school year.
When we take a break for summerand the class moves up a grade.
And of course at the end of highschool and college there's
graduation, the really big eventon the school calendar, which
typically happens in the spring.
The school calendar is afantastic way to mark time while
rarely needing to mention dates,especially because of your
(09:06):
characters are in school.
They're pretty much alwayslooking forward to the next
break.
So you might want to orient usevery now and then, So that we
know when your school calendaris really set and where these
breaks fall in the month storein the seasons.
But when you have that schoolcalendar and remark time with,
we really will feel time passingthe way that your characters do.
So that's tip number one,mentioned something seasonal.
(09:30):
And that's a great segue intotip.
Number two mentioned futureevents.
The idea here is to mentionevents that are coming up later
in the story.
I'll take that funny storyexample again.
Juneteenth and pride month arementioned in passing they're
indicators of where we are inthe year, but they're not events
that are part of the plot of thestory.
(09:51):
But there is an event thathappens towards the end of the
novel and events that theprotagonist is heavily involved
in.
And that she's basing a lot oflife decisions around.
And that event is mentionedearly on.
I won't tell you what it is justbecause this book came out so
recently That I would definitelybe spoiling it for some readers
who haven't gotten their handson it yet.
But what's worth knowing is thatthis is an event that happens in
(10:13):
the plot.
And Emily Henry tells us fairlyearly on in the story that it's
coming.
And then we measure time againstthat event as it gets closer and
closer and finally happens.
Another example of this comesfrom the truth about forever by
Sarah desen in the truth aboutforever.
The protagonist's mom runs aconstruction company that builds
housing developments.
(10:35):
At the beginning of the novel,there's an open house to
celebrate breaking ground on anew row of townhouses.
And then a few chapters later.
Uh, we learned that she's alsoplanning a gala that will happen
at the end of the summer whenconstruction of the townhouses
is complete.
So we know a few things.
The gala is happening at the endof the summer.
And it's a big event thatmatters to the protagonist.
(10:57):
When she's thinking about theend of summer, she's not just
thinking about cooler weather inthe fall or even school starting
back up.
She's thinking about this galathat she's going to be attending
and what it will mean for hermom to finish this major project
that she's pouring all of herenergy into.
This technique of mentioningfuture events that are coming up
in your story is highlyimpactful on several levels.
(11:19):
First, it gives you somethingstory relevant to use to mark
time.
You're not just telling us abouttime.
You're telling us aboutsomething that's very plot
relevant to your story.
June and July and August areuniversal, which is great
because we all know what theymean, but they also don't attach
us to your story specifically.
(11:39):
The gala at the end of thesummer allows us to use the
actual events of the story tokeep track of time.
Second, this createsforward-looking tension.
Back in episode 70, the firstepisode in the series, I talked
about how marking time is anopportunity to create tension in
your story.
When you tell us about somethingthat's coming up, that hasn't
(12:00):
happened yet.
You create forward-lookingtension where we get to
anticipate something coming upand wonder what will happen when
we get there.
We have to keep turning thepages because Emily Henry told
us about this big, mysteriousthing that Daphne's looking
forward to.
And we have to know what's goingto happen when it gets here and
what Daphne is going to do.
And third.
(12:20):
This filters, the passing oftime through the specific ways
that your character experiencesit.
More than anything.
We want to know what the passageof time means to your
characters.
And when you mark the passing oftime with specific events in
your story, you create theperfect opportunity for us to
tap into that meaning.
(12:40):
That gala is at the end of thesummer, but it's not just a sign
that may see the protagonist isgoing back to school.
When Macy thinks of the gala, weget to see what the end of the
summer means to her.
For her.
It's a cue that her summer jobworking for a chaotic catering
company will end.
She'll no longer be in thisliminal space where perfection
isn't expected and mistakes aretaken in stride, a space where
(13:03):
she's made new friends andstarted to relax and heal.
The gala is also about how sherelates to her mom.
Macy's mom has been carryingenormous pressure to get the
townhouses constructed perfectlyand on time.
And Macy is scared that thestress might crush her mom
before they're finished.
And she's scared of what her momis going to do once that
pressure is lifted and shedoesn't have that project to
(13:25):
ground her.
So the gala does a whole lot ofthings at once.
Whenever it's referenced, we getanother indicator of how much
time has passed and how closethe gala is now.
And whenever it's referenced, weget to see through Macy's eyes,
the hopes and fears that shefeels as that milestone date
creeps closer.
In short.
(13:46):
It makes time matter to thereader in the way that time
matters to the character.
Do you see how these techniquesfall in the middle of that
showing versus telling spectrumthat I mentioned at the
beginning.
The first technique is to marktime by mentioning something
seasonal.
Whether it's ChristmasJuneteenth, Devale, graduation,
or strawberry picking.
And the second technique is tomark time by mentioning future
(14:09):
events that will happen in theplot and matter to the
characters.
These techniques do haveelements of telling because they
are in a way stating objectivemeasurements of time.
But they also have elements ofshowing Because they're
conveying the effects.
The time passing has on yourcharacter and on their world.
They carry meaning beyond justtheir place on the calendar.
(14:31):
That second technique,especially the one where you
mentioned future events, createstension and emphasizes the
things that matter to yourcharacter and the emotions your
character feels about them.
And you can do all of thissimply by mentioning these
markers of time.
Like I mentioned in the episodeof telling techniques, you don't
have to use any of thesetechniques in isolation.
(14:52):
In fact, I highly encourage youto use a mix of many techniques.
One or two of the tellingtechniques, One or two of these
telling, showing mixedtechniques and one or two of the
showing techniques that we'lltalk about in the next episode.
When you use them incombination, you'll enable your
readers to consciouslyintellectually follow along with
the timeline of the story whilealso allowing them to experience
(15:14):
the pace of the story in the waythat your characters do.
So, if you haven't listened tothe last couple of episodes in
the series, head back to thoseto listen now.
And keep an eye out for the nextepisode for the showing
techniques.
There's some forward-lookingtension for you.
The things that are coming next.
In the meantime, you know whatyour assignment is?
First pick up a book that youlove and read a few chapters to
(15:37):
see if you can spot either ofthese techniques.
Where does the story mentionsomething seasonal and where
does it mention an upcomingevent in the plot?
And second open your work inprogress and see whether you're
using either of thesetechniques.
Think about your characters andwhat calendars or events matter
to them, how do they keep trackof time?
(15:57):
And be sure to catch the nextepisode of your next draft
coming to you in a couple ofweeks.
Until then.
Happy editing.
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