Timesense
To all you writerly types out there, and maybe if you can't answer you can think of who can: (Readerly types feel free to chime in.)
I'm writing a novel that is very time-sensitive. Think '24' without the crack. Think The Da Vinci Code (which I may just have to re-read to see if I can learn a few pointers). The action takes place over one weekend, and is pretty much constant unless all the characters are sleeping. So far I've gotten away with being semi-vague in references to what time it is, just throwing them in when I need it to be a particular time of day or night.
But, here's the part that's throwing me for a loop: how do I know exactly how long a scene will take, if for example I need to make reference to what time it is now, and what time it was when a certain past scene took place? Do I even really need to be that precise? With Dan and Tyn I can get away with being vague, but Link would keep track of such things.
Like, how long it took to talk to somebody, then drive somewhere, and all that.
I'm writing a novel that is very time-sensitive. Think '24' without the crack. Think The Da Vinci Code (which I may just have to re-read to see if I can learn a few pointers). The action takes place over one weekend, and is pretty much constant unless all the characters are sleeping. So far I've gotten away with being semi-vague in references to what time it is, just throwing them in when I need it to be a particular time of day or night.
But, here's the part that's throwing me for a loop: how do I know exactly how long a scene will take, if for example I need to make reference to what time it is now, and what time it was when a certain past scene took place? Do I even really need to be that precise? With Dan and Tyn I can get away with being vague, but Link would keep track of such things.
Like, how long it took to talk to somebody, then drive somewhere, and all that.