Back in my Day...

You should definitely have a book out on your table.



Today we get to talk about time shifts!

When a character thinks about and describes a time in the past, or imagines the future, that is a time shift. It is also a time shift if there is a significant jump in time in your novel.

Types of time shifts:

Flashback:

Flash forward:

Time jump/time manipulation:

Seventy Years Later....

Creative Commons pictures accessed/modified via Pixabay

There are other ways to play with time in your novel. Those are common examples.

Phrases that might signal a time shift in your novel:

• I remember when...
• Once...
• Long ago...
• It reminds me of...
• He thought back...
• I was only __ years old when...
• I imagined what would happen next week when...
• Here's what would happen: 
• 
  

Today, I DARE YOU to include a time shift in your novel. Have a character remember a fond (or terrible) memory that relates to the current plot, or have that character imagine a day 5 years in the future. The catch is that you have to be descriptive. The reader needs to feel like they are in the memory as much as the character is (so use sensory details and strong verbs to show action.)

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