How do your readers know what time it is? When you write a novel you will want to focus your scenes on important things that happen and leave out all the boring stuff in between. So how do your readers get a feeling that time is passing without having to sit through every minute of your character's day?
The easiest way to do this is to state it in a transition. "The next morning," or "Later that night," or "Three years had gone by." But while that informs your reader that time has passed, it might not convey the sense, feeling, or experience that time has gone by.
How do you do it? Think about the ways that YOU know that time has passed. Then use one of them in your story.
Here's a list of suggestions that the Laie Young Writers came up with at our club meeting:
1. Check the clock. This is especially effective when counting down to a serious deadline, like a thermonuclear core implosion.
2. Notice milestones, like days of the week, seasons, or holidays.
3. Leave the character doing a time-consuming task, then come back in scene when the task is finished.
4. Summarize events between scenes. This can also be done in flashback, but if it becomes a really detailed flashback, consider giving it its own scene in sequence.
5. Mention the movement of the sun, the moon, or other features of the sky.
6. Point out growth or decay. Has the tiny sapling become a tree? Is the grand old mansion now a tumble-down wreck?
7. Rituals, but with progress. If you want to show your character eating breakfast repeatedly, that can give a good sense of days going by, but make sure that something changes each time.
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