So... About That Time Machine

A while ago I flashed-back to one of my many journeys from my Kings Road dorms to South Kensington tube station, where I found on an empty platform and a time machine disguised as a Cadbury's chocolates dispenser.

And that got me thinking... thinking about something we all know is immensely true, but probably don't think about enough: time has a lot to do with setting and has a great influence on a story.

Where to set a story within the space of TIME?

There's so much choice! I could go from 'Ancient History' (let's say, 3000BC) to anywhere in the future (how about 3000AD, just to put a limit on it).

How Characters Change

Let me start off by saying I'm a bad blogger. I mean a REALLY bad blogger. I think this is namely because when I start blogging, I start thinking I should be doing something else: writing some chapters, deleting some words or moving scenes around--something, anything to make The Manuscript better.

That said, I want to blog... I need to blog. I need share a little about what I've been working on with The Manuscript. Today I've been working on how character's change.

So what happens is that the narrator and her family go through The Really Horrible Experience (ie the inciting incident), which, I'm pleased announce, thanks to a little editing magic, now happens in the second chapter instead of the sixth. PHEW! Let's hear it for editing magic. It's my fave.

The Picture + Words Prompt

Sometimes we all need a little inspiration. Below is a writing prompt or story starter. Use it in whatever way works best for you—develop a story, character or a scene. And so let me know if you come across anything particularly interesting.

Click here and use the first picture on this page.