Updated July 5, 2021
Have you ever been reading a story and suddenly found yourself saying, “Wait a minute, in that last chapter spring was just beginning and now suddenly it’s wintertime?”
I know I have. And it’s like a train crashing through the middle of the story.
Sometimes it’s not that stark, but I notice when things are out of sync even by mere hours. Yes, that can be drawback in my pleasure reading, but in editing, this ability to track the story’s time line is an asset.
Not all stories are this linear, but most are. And whether you are aware of it, you track the story time line as you read. Even movies give us clues as to the passing of time—usually through a night scene that transitions to a day time scene.
[Read more…] about Has Your Story Time Line Jumped the Tracks?