For anyone who has written a novel that shifts between the past and the present, it can be a tricky thing to keep track of time. I struggled for months to keep notes on the ages of my characters and the timeline of my story, a task which involved a level of organization that I had not previously employed. But when draft after draft, I added or subtracted years between events, I was grateful for it.
Lavender blooming in February?...Are you sure about that?
I don’t kid myself that no one will notice. Not even for a second. I don’t know about you, but I have a disturbing memory for details and I know I would notice if Ben was 52 in 1975 and then 60 in 1981. I do the math. And I suspect most readers do, too.
Years ago, when I was an art director at a magazine, I saw first-hand the difficult job of the copy editor, picking up tiny mistakes that had been missed in articles, saving everyone involved varying degrees of embarrassment. Having that appreciation for a copy editor’s work, I most certainly feel a tremendous responsibility to deliver the sharpest and most accurate manuscript I can. It shouldn’t be up to a copy editor to catch that I’ve made Matthew’s hair ash on page 67 and then golden blond on page 118.
So as the time draws nearer to delivering the final draft of LITTLE GALE GUMBO to my editor, I think about all the little things that I might miss in a final read-over, not just ages and dates. A character smiling too many times in a single scene, or worse, someone’s eyes changing color (and not from contact use) from one scene to the next.
To make sure I don’t, I’ve constructed a character journal and listed all the physical traits I’ve assigned to my characters. I have been in awe of how many times I’ve returned to double-check–not because I don’t know my characters inside and out, but because I know how easy it is to trip up on the little things in the heat of writing.
Any of you have any tricks for mastering the little things, or any novels you’ve written that have posed a similar challenge?
How about any books you’ve read that have included continuity details that have slipped through the editing cracks?
I make character files too, which include physical details and the dates for important events. As I write, I make scene lists that not only include notes on the scenes, but the date they took place and the number of days into the storyline.
I also check the weather archives for that date and location, so I don’t have, for instance, a thunderstorm occur out of season, or have someone dressed in light clothing, when the normal high temp at that time is 45 degrees.
And since my character Jalal, in my last novel, frequently ran on a California beach, I also checked the tide tables for the time period to make sure I portrayed that aspect realistically.
Most readers would not give these things a thought, but a few might notice a gaff … and besides I like knowing it’s accurate.
Gee, do I sound obsessive?
Thanks for sharing that, Linda. Life with the internet makes that kind of research (tide tables. climate readings) so much easier–I remember the good old days of sitting in the New York Public Library with fat volumes on costume/fashion history–now I can google and the amount of info that comes back always amazes me…
Maybe it’s that the character feels like they have aged more years than have actually passed. There is the idea that some people look a lot older than they actually are, and conversely, look a lot younger than they actually are.
When you’re writing about these characters, this may be the reason why sometimes, a character has aged 8 years, even though it has only been 6.
With Love and Gratitude,
The Intentional Sage
Thanks for stopping by the blog!
No offense, but Erika and organized are two words I didn’t think I would ever see together. Curator Dave is the anal one with the copy editor’s eye for detail and (foolish?) consistency. You used to be Hurricane Erika the whirling Dervish. What happened?
She grew up…and then had kids, and grew down again!
I like your turn of phrase “grew down,” Erika. It reminds me of the word May Sarton came up with to describe aging. She likened it to ripening. Have you had to grow down to your girls, in all the best senses of that meaning?
In my new story which I recently started working on, I have three generations of women and a wide time range… It is difficult to keep all the important details, times and places, little character traits so I started to keep a separate notebook for each of them and made a huge timeline and hang it in my room where I can look anytime I need to…
And people assume we just ‘sit down and write’
Lua, I’m highly impressed! Can I request a post on this–I’d love to see a pic of the timeline you constructed. My WIP is all taking place (essentially) in the same time period and I have to admit I’m glad for a break from all the timing notes–but of course, there’s still plenty of other details to keep track of…
I”ve never thought of having anything like a character journal to note down all their little quirks etc – i always end up going back through what i’ve written to find out what i’d said about them… and since i don’t write chronologically that’s never easy.
I might have to start doing that, thank you
Thanks for stopping by the blog, Megs. Usually I don’t keep notes either but this novel had me so dizzy keeping track of dates and ages and names and streets, etc, I had to and it was a huge relief!
GREAT article! In books and in my own work, I do get annoyed by too many things being repeated–like you yourself mentioned, a character smiling too much.
The issues I’ve had with my first book was continuity in emotions. The hero would be feeling one thing for the heroine, and in another chapter, his feelings for her would contradict what he felt before. I don’t notice these things. That’s why I was so grateful that my critique partner did. She went through all the nine chapters and outlined the state of the hero’s emotion so that it developed rather than contradicted
Thanks, June–it’s amazing to have another’s eyes on a manuscript, isn’t it?
I have to admit I don’t have a great system. Usually I’ve just thought it out in my head. I’m actually more in my head than on paper for the entire outlining process. I put ideas down, but the scenes are just rolling around in there until I get it how I want. Then when I go back, I’ll notice inconsistencies and have to change them. My bigger problem is when I’m editing and I change something fairly drastic and then go back to other sections of the manuscript and they don’t make sense anymore. That involves even more re-writing. It’s a good thing the end result is always better.
Shari, isn’t it amazing how one tiny thread when pulled can unravel a whole sweater (manuscript)? Details can also be tricky to keep consistent during re-writes…another reason I may keep with my new trend of note-taking…