Joanne Harris Profile picture
May 22, 2018 11 tweets 4 min read Read on X
We haven't had #TenTweets for awhile. These come to you courtesy of the delayed Transpennine train to Newcastle, and deal with TIME IN FICTION. Follow the hashtag to collect them all! #TenThingsAboutTime
1. When planning a novel, it helps to work out the time period your plot covers. Is it plausible? Are you allowing enough time for your key events to unfurl? For characters to get to know each other? #TenThingsAboutTime
2. It sometimes helps to actually use a calendar to plot out key events, to make sure time in your story is operating the way you want it to.
3. Try to be aware of what day it is at any given time in your narrative. Things don't always operate in the same way on all days of the week. #TenThingsAboutTime
4. Remember that your characters' daily routine will probably change at weekends and bank holidays. Don't overlook them. #TenThingsAboutTime
5. Don't have too many things happening on the same day. Allow your characters to have down time, sleep, and intervals where nothing happens. #TenThingsAboutTime
6. The time of day matters. Use mealtimes, light, traffic and any other variables to make it clear at all times when your action is occurring. #TenThingsAboutTime
7. Don't neglect the seasons. Weather, vegetation, light and temperature are all ways of expressing the passing of time via the changing of the seasons. #TenThingsAboutTime
8. Be imaginative. There are lots of ways of telling what time it is without having your protagonist check their watch constantly. Buses going by; church bells; the position of the sun - they're all good. #TenThingsAboutTime
9. You can tell a lot about your protagonist by the way they manage their time. Are they disciplined? Organised? Do they work to a timetable? #TenThingsAboutTime
10. Time in fiction doesn't have to operate at a uniform speed. The way we process time is as much about our feelings as it is about hours and days. #TenThingsAboutTime

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More from @Joannechocolat

Oct 9, 2018
It's a long train journey, so let's do this one, too. Follow #TenWaysForMenToWriteAboutWomen to collect them all!
1. This one is for the many men who have asked my advice on this. First, kudos for asking. Second, the fact that you needed to ask at all may be the root of your problem. #TenWaysForMenToWriteAboutWomen
2. Look at the way you interact with women in real life. If you're problematic, sexist or prejudiced in life, then you don't have much of a chance of avoiding it in your fiction. #TenWaysForMenToWriteAboutWomen
Read 12 tweets
Sep 18, 2018
This one sounds interesting. Let's extend it to writing about EMOTIONS. Follow the hashtag to collect them all! #TenThingsAboutEmotions
1. To write convincingly about emotions - whether that's love, grief, anger, joy - you have to be acutely aware of your *own* emotions, and how they come across to other people. #TenThingsAboutEmotions
2. It's probably the only instance where the "write what you know" rule really applies. #TenThingsAboutEmotions
Read 11 tweets
Sep 16, 2018
Margareta von Ascheberg (1671 – 1753) was a Swedish land owner, noble and acting regiment colonel during the Great Northern War. #CelebratingWomen
She was the youngest child of Field Marshal Rutger von Ascheberg and Magdalena Eleonora Busseck. In 1691, she married colonel count Kjell Christopher Barnekow in Malmö.
As was the custom of the Swedish nobility as that time, she kept her name after marriage and style herself »Grevinnan Ascheberg» (Countess Ascheberg). The couple had four children.
Read 8 tweets
Sep 15, 2018
Queen Nanny or Nanny (c. 1686 – c. 1755), was an 18th-century leader of the Jamaican Maroons. Much of what is known about her comes from oral history, as little textual evidence exists. #CelebratingWomen
She was born into the Asante people in what is today Ghana, and escaped from slavery after being transported to Jamaica.
Historical documents refer to her as the "rebels' old 'obeah' woman." Following some armed confrontations, colonial officials reached a settlement for peace.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 14, 2018
1. Writer's block is a psychological disorder, and is far, far less common than most people think. It's linked to depression, so if you really think you're suffering from this, get professional help. #TenThingsAboutWritersBlock
2. Many people use the term loosely, to mean "lacking the will or the inspiration to write." If this is you, try to identify the reason. #TenThingsAboutWritersBlock
Read 11 tweets
Sep 14, 2018
Na Hangbe was the ruler of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, for a brief period before Agaja came to power in 1718. #CelebratingWomen
Little is known about her because her rule was largely erased from the official Dahomey history and much that is known is brought together by various different oral histories.
However, it is believed that she became the ruler of Dahomey upon the sudden death of King Akaba because his oldest son, Agbo Sassa, was not yet of age.
Read 4 tweets

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