Creative, my ass.

[framlingem]

It occurs to me that I am completely and utterly pants at writing temporal transitions. I can hardly document every minute and action in the life of my character, and yet there's only so much 'hours passed', 'some time later', 'that evening', 'eventually', and 'finally' I can take as a reader, so I refuse to overdo it as a writer.

*bangs head on desk repeatedly*

In other news, I am now warm and toasty in my polar fleece socks, corduroys, and blue SWGC hoodie. Usually when I'm cold I put on my Celtae toque, but as that took a dip as well today, I can't.

Comments

[ksenour.livejournal.com]

Can you simply use like chapter breaks as points where time 'disapears'? I feel like I've seen that done. Or, not necessarily chapter breaks buuut... Something ala Terry Pratchett where there's just a double space between paragraphs that signals 'new place, new time, new people!'

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

I could, yes, but since my chapters are only a thousand words long, and it's the same character... I don't know :p It's a 'the bicycle trip took four hours' sort of situation... nothing much happened during the four hours, but at the same time, the end of the bicycle trip doesn't really merit its own new chapter.

I'm _this_ close to writing "Oi! Reader! Time has Passed!"

:p

On the other hand, I'm rather proud of this particular line. "If the owl had had eyebrows, it would have raised one skeptically as it contemplated the matter at hand. Coming to a decision, it shot a talon out and skewered the mouse, which shut up in short order."

[full4zaccordion.livejournal.com]

When I need to switch scenes, I just put a line of asterixes and start a new scene below it.
*****
Like that. And if your character does something, like take a bicycle trip where nothing really happens, you can just say something like, "He hopped on his bicycle and started riding. Four hours later, when he reached his destination..." etc. I hope that helps ;)

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Yes, but that's so boring ;)

The asterixes are a good idea, though.

well...

[mpulse.livejournal.com]

you can always have the character go into a coma or narcolepsy???.. and therefore when he awoke on the kitchen floor... or in the coffin at his supposed funeral... yeah that's a fun one... or on top of the sheep...

bad mike... going in closet now...

[disc-sophist.livejournal.com]

...I am completely and utterly pants...

I have never heard this expression, but I already love it dearly, 'cause well, pants.

As for your writing dilemma, what about summing up the empty time- "After an uneventful bicycle trip" or adding a mini-event "After avoiding several unsupervised children, two sociopathic truck drivers, and an unexpected moose, he arrived at his destination." Okay, maybe not quite like that, but you get the idea.

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

The expression "pants" in this context is an Anglicism, I believe. Possibly a Briticism, and certainly not a witticism (which leaves it open to criticism... okay, I'm done now).

I believe I have solved the dilemna. It was found while writing a Harry Potter fic - likest thou Harry Potter fics?

[disc-sophist.livejournal.com]

Wait, lemme think... er... YES! What pairing?

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

No pairing. Not a one ;) Just good plain old-fashioned adventure, with some angst, mice, and elephants thrown in for good measure. And an uppity owl. However, the main characters are Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Lupin (of course. I confess to being a Lupin fangirl).

The (unedited) bits can be found on FFnet, where they are currently garnering preliminary feedback, under the title "A Paris Tradition" by Framling (that would be me).