The Passing Of Time

So here's something for you to think about bloggers, how do you pass time? Now right now you've got hundreds of possibilities flipping through your mind, the first one being "I'm on the computer reading this, how do you think I pass my time?" but that's not what I'm talking about. I mean in writing. There's all sorts of different ways, let me jot down a few and tell you why they work.

1. Skipping forward with a title.
   - For example write a scene in March then start the next scene with a line that simply informs the reader of the passing of time. i.e. Two Months Later
2. Skip time with dialogue.
   - Bring something up in the character's conversation to explain that time has passed. i.e. "Yeah but that was two months ago!"
3. Use the seasons.
   -Here's another one, if your wrote one scene in the winter make this one in the spring or summer, this is also something you need to be aware of when you're writing. If you write a scene in the winter and then say it's eight months later but it's still winter then you're going to run into a problem when you're readers find out and trust me they will!
4. Flashbacks
   -This is one of my favorites, it doesn't so much count as the passing of time but I had to throw it in there. This is a great way to not just reveal important parts of a character's history but also to explain how long something has been, it gives perspective.

Okay so now for the more sentimental part of this blog for those of you who aren't writers out there. This whole thing started because my niece turned two yesterday. That's not just exciting but terrifying. I can't believe how quickly time has passed! It feels like days ago that my brother and sister-in-law called me at the airport to tell me they were expecting. Then I remember just a few days after she was born holding her little body close. She was so tiny and I was terrified of hurting her!
A few months later I went to stay with them for a few days and got to watch her, that was the first fun experience I'd really had with a newborn who wakes up all throughout the night (and everyone claimed she was a good baby! but she was still loud!) And then there was her first birthday which was much more about the cake then then presents. This year was opposite, which made it even more fun, getting to watch her open her gifts.

Time does pass, whether it's in our lives or in stories we read or write we can't stop it. There's a passage in Exodus that talks about the different seasons in our lives. So here's my wish for you my friends, that whatever season you are in you will be blessed in it.