Monday, August 1, 2016

The Thirty Hour Day



I’ve heard a couple of writers say they never, never ever, read the books of others. What a shame. They’re missing some fine entertainment, but more importantly for an author, they’re missing some great lessons. When reading someone else’s book that they’ve put their blood and sweat into, you can learn what to do and what not to do. That sounds way too easy, but it’s true.

I learned a lesson of what not to do, but in this case it wasn’t from reading someone else’s story. It was from writing my own book.
Timing can be everything in a story. I once wrote a book where Sandi Webster’s day would have had to be at least thirty hours long to accomplish everything she did in one day, and she wouldn’t have had time to sleep, eat or take a potty break. Fortunately, at the time I had a terrific editor and she called me on what I’d done. I had to go back and rework parts of the story and move events around so it made sense.

I’m what’s called a “pantser”. That means I don’t use an outline, but write by the seat of my pants. I tried outlining, but I couldn’t stick to it – not even close. So keeping track of time is important to me.

As a reader, how do you feel when you read that the main character decides a new roof is necessary on her house, and the next morning –  poof!   the new roof is miraculously in place? Was the character able to call a roofer and find one who was sitting around twiddling his thumbs, so he came right out and worked overnight to put the roof on? Really? I want his number.

We can accomplish a lot in one day. Ask any mother. However, when writing a book, the author needs to keep some semblance of realism in mind as the story unfolds.

How about a protagonist who finds a dead body, discovers who all the suspects are, hunts them down and interviews them all in one day, has a tussle with the killer and turns that killer over to the police in a period of, oh, say twelve hours. Let’s make that eighteen hours, just to give the hero or heroine the benefit of the doubt. Don’t forget that this character probably stopped for food, or at least a cup of coffee, and maybe had a romantic interlude along the way. He or she might have answered calls on the cell phone, and one of those calls may have been Aunt Tillie with a family emergency that had to be handled by the protagonist. Oh, I forgot about the traffic accident that tied traffic up for a few hours, leaving the character stuck in the middle lane.

I know I’m exaggerating, but a writer has to remember that timelines are important. Yes, an entire mystery might take place in the span of twenty-four hours, but the protagonist probably wouldn’t be doing anything other than solving the crime. (Now watch someone come along and prove me wrong. There are exceptions to every rule.)

I believe, and this is just me, that most crimes need to be solved within a few days or a week – two weeks, tops. That’s not always the case, but many times the danger will build to the point of exploding if a crime in a book isn’t solved quickly. The killer may cover his or her tracks and disappear. Also, the longer it takes to solve the crime, the more chance the main character has of being knocked off because he or she is dragging their feet when they’re too close to the truth.

Everyone has their own trick for tracking time. I type, in large red letters, the day of the week at the beginning of each chapter, and sometimes the time of day. Works for me, and I simply delete the large red letters before I submit the book.

Other authors write out a timeline and some use an outline. We each use what works best for us. No matter what process you use, watch the timeline.

Until next time, if you’re a reader, I hope you discover a good book, and if you’re a writer, I wish you more hours in the day – or at least the days in your book.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website
CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

The last Sandi Webster mystery, What Are the Odds?, involves a strange house out in the desert.

The newest story, Choosing One Moment – A Time Travel Mystery, involves the year 1909 and some unexpected situations.

The last Bogey Man book was titled, How Now Purple Cow, and involves some old-time spies.

Take your pick and enjoy a good story.

13 comments:

  1. This is good to keep in mind, Marja. I tend to lose track of my chronology. It would be simple to use your trick of red letters. Maybe I'll do that with my next book. Also, I think a detective who did nothing but work on the crime might be a little boring. Good blog!

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    1. Thank you, Dorothy! Yes, a detective could be boring if there's nothing else going on during the investigation. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  2. Marja,
    I'm a plotter. I've tried writing by the seat of my pants, being a pantster, - and I've often wished I could be - but it doesn't work for me.
    I create an ongoing chapter-by-chapter outline for each new book, starting before I write one word of the book. My Malone mysteries take place within a week and each day is specified at the beginning of that chapter. This keeps me from "overloading" my characters with too much in one day and it keeps me in line as the writer. :)

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    1. I'm glad using an outline works for you, Pat. I wish I could do it that way. Great way to keep track of the days. I notice you also have other things going on in your books, so as Dorothy mentioned in another comment, you keep things lively. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  3. I use old calendars for timelines in my story. And sometimes I begin a chapter with the date and time of day. Sometimes I write as a pantser but most times I make an outline of sorts. I don't always follow the outline completely. And, for the most part, I don't have a sleuth. I have main characters who get involved but rarely solve anything. My police officers in Who'll Kill Agnes? are blithering idiots. I knew I couldn't create characters who are smarter than I am. Agatha Christie could create Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells and Arthur Conan Doyle could create Sherlock Holmes. My guess is that they were smarter than their sleuths.

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    1. I tried using calendars, Pat, because I'd heard of a famous author who did that. It didn't work for me anymore than the outlines I tried. I'm glad it works for you. You mentioned Who'll Kill Agnes, and I have to say that for some reason it reminded me of a Hitchcock story, and I love his stories. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  4. It's easy to confuse the days when you're writing. I jot down the date in a notebook, and add a sentence or two of what the characters are doing on that date. Otherwise it can get confusing, especially when you have to refer back to that date in the story. Been there, done that, LOL!

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    1. Great process, Evelyn. It's so easy to have our characters do as much as we probably wish we could do in a short time. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  5. When I was writing my second novel, I came to the end of the first draft and realized the timing had become confused in my own head. I solved the problem by writing out an actual timeline on paper as I read through the draft. That way I could look at the timeline and know what scenes had to be moved around and what scenes could stay put. Normally I live to have timeline issues resolved before I begin writing, but that was a strategy that ended up working well for me. Great post!

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    1. Thank you, Amy! I'm glad your timeline works for you. I have to think in terms of morning, noon and evening or I have my characters doing thirty things in the morning. : ) Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  6. Well, as a reader, I also would put extra hours in a day t good use. You're right. I know mystery authors who wrap things up in a week and the next week a new body is discovered. Worse when the setting is a tourist town. At lease a couple authors have their protagonist amateur sleuth find trouble on vacation.

    It can be exciting to have the ideas run rampant and flow onto the page but that is why editors are such valuable assets.

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    1. Good point, Laura. Without an editor, I wouldn't have realized what I was doing. And, you're right, we get carried away sometimes and do run rampant. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  7. Have found you have correct amount of time to keep interest because of reality in stories.

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