The Importance of Time
The Importance of Time
Chuck reminds me of this weekly.
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When you write stories, one of the things you must maintain an awareness of, is time.
āThe two most powerful warriors are patience and timeā ā Leo Tolstoy
The age of characters, the ages themselves ā as in the specific sections of time in your world ā because time affects everything and everyone. Readers can often become confused if your story isnāt consistent with events and people in the flow of time.Ā
Chuck reminds me of this weekly.Ā
Iām so glad that WorldAnvil has revamped and expanded ātimelinesā for our WantedHero world. It will make listing events and keeping the lifespans of characters in order as I continue to build these stories for you. If you havenāt stopped over and had a peek at what Hƶbin and I are building to expand the goodies of this fictional world with you, you should.Ā
Just go to WantedHero.com.
Funny Story
I believe I mentioned this in one of the Morning Coffee videos, but I couldnāt find itā¦a conversation I had with my daughter, Ruby. Sheās four years old going on 45 with that attitude and intelligence.
One evening, I was watching a program with Dr. Jordan Peterson and she walked into the room. Seeing me engrossed in the conversation I was watching, she asked, "Daddy, what are you doing?"
"Uh, Iām watching Dr. Jordan Peterson, sweetie."
She watched with me for a minute, then said, "He looksā¦old."
I paused, considering. "Well,ā¦yes, I guess he is getting old."
She stared at the TV. "I mean REEEEEALLY old. Like 45ā¦or even 30!"
My wife, who was knitting in the chair next to me, slapped her hand over her mouth and laughed.
Now Iām 54. I looked at Ruby, her face stoic, then to my wife. "Should I try andā¦," but my wife shook her head.
"Donāt bother," she said.
But I couldnāt let it go. So I leaned down with a smile on my face and asked, "Ruby, do you know how old daddy is?"
She nodded, "Youāre 54."
My wife laughed herself to tears,ā¦and I learned my little girl had absolutely zero concept of numbers or age.
Q: Have you ever read a story and were āthrown offā by a confusion about its use of time?
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Yes! I have. Sadly all too often I need to remind writers of this. It is one of the best things about World Anvil! I mentioned it to one author who was struggling... And got a "you just want me to use World Anvil." Nope. I just want you to make a valid timeline! Writer was not amused because... They thought it was right. I had to make a timeline for them. Then the could see it. Time is hard! I've also learned that people can sense time differently. I'm actually the type who feels time very loosely. The less structured, the better. LoL