When is the right time to consider your story’s timeline?
Right now!
One of the easiest mistakes to make as a new writer is to jump right into your story without a fragmented skeleton of an outline. But an even worse mistake is to get 40 – 50K words into your manuscript and see timing elements that don’t mesh.
Rewrites can be pure evil if one of your elements or your scenes causes a few of your “days” to seem an impossible 46 ½ hours long, or you based the beginning pace on an unsupportable time frame that comes back to bite you – nearly at the end of your manuscript.
Now is the time where an ounce of prevention can save you a week (or more) of heartache, trying to correct a simple mistake at Chapter Three, only to find that it completely destroys the integration of your story throughout 400+ pages of intense plot!
Keep a running tally on each chapter, each imaginary day, and skip right over that writer’s pit!
Check out Writers Rant or the Archives for more helpful hints.
Happy Writing,
David Pyle
