On Themes: How To Incorporate Time In Your Novels

My only rule when it comes to time in novels: It doesn’t exist. (Some physicists claim time doesn’t exist in reality.)

You decide how the reader perceives time in fiction. Manage the illusion well and your reader is trapped in the flow of your words. Manage it poorly and your reader may look for other reasons not to like it.

Rachel Poli shares her tips on time.

Rachel Poli

Time is weird. It flies by when we’re having fun, yet the weeks drag on. Something can happen in the blink of an eye, yet certain situations seem to last forever. We wish we had more time in the things we do, but we always waste the time we have.

When it comes to talking about time in our novels, it’s not exactly as easy as you would think.

Time, in my opinion, is probably a theme in every novel you’ve written or read. It may not always be noticeable, but think about it: everything that happens, happens in time.

Time can either be used for or against the protagonist. Time can just be present because… well, time isalways present no matter what. Time can be subtle, time can be noticed. There are a lot of different ways you can use time in your novels whether you’re advancing the…

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