How to Keep Track of Time in a Novel

September 2, 2013August 29, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

Time and dates can be straight forward or complicated.

Are you writing a novel that happens in order of events?
Do you jump back and forth in time?
Are you writing a time travel novel?

The farther down the list you go, the more complicated keeping track of timing becomes. My novels are in the order the events occur, and I can’t imagine how difficult it is to keep track of a time travel novel.

On a basic level, I use a calendar on my computer. I put key events on a day. This helps me make sure I didn’t make an error.

Things I check include:

day of week in a scene
scenes are in order
an event isn’t happening on a day off, a statutory holiday etc. when a person wouldn’t be at work
clues aren’t referenced before they happen
when villain is introduced

I also use a spreadsheet to keep track of the details of a scene and combined with the calendar I hope I find any errors in timing before the novel goes to my literary agent.

As an added bonus, when you complete the calendar, you should have the key elements you need to write a synopsis. Anything that helps write the dreaded synopsis has to be good. Right?

What tools to you use?

I made a calendar in Excel but is there anything better out there. I’d really like to know.

Thanks for reading . . .

Scene of the Crime Writers Festival: Genre Talk

August 19, 2013August 19, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

This year Scene of the Crime brought us Barbara Fradkin, author of the Michael Green Detective novels. Barbara led the morning workshop at writers festival on Wolfe Island in Kingston Ontario.

Panel discussion by: Barbara Fradkin, Andrew Pyper, Ian Hamilton, Gloria Ferris, Erika Chase, Janet Bolin

Fradkin talked about the difference between cosy mysteries and hard-boiled mystery.

If you’re writing a cosy, she suggested:

no swearing
limited violence – could be off screen
sex mostly off screen
set in a tight community, village or club
write in a genteel pace

But if you’re on the other end of the spectrum you can write whatever you like.

I think my writing falls somewhere in the middle. What about you?

Thanks for reading . . .

Nicknames for Characters

August 5, 2013August 1, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

It is okay to refer to a character using more than one name?

In life, we’re often referred to by a nick name, a family name or a full name depending on who is talking to us.

I call my niece, MoMo. She calls me TiTi. She’s the only person who does that.

At work or formal situations, I go by Kristina.

My family and close friends call me Tina.

But no one calls me Kris. It’s not a short form of my name I like. If a person uses it, my brain doesn’t even register I’m being addressed.

But in a novel, is all this fair game?

I think it depends on the writing.

In the last case, a character could refer to another by a name they don’t like. This would tell you something about the character. Maybe he is socially inept. Maybe he is trying to be irritating.

Short forms make characters close to each other. There is an intimating between them that wouldn’t be there without the endearing name.

A character insisting that others use her full name could be giving a message. Maybe she doesn’t like the person she’s talking to so insists that person be formal and kept at a distance. Or maybe she is trying to appear professional.

My only caution is the nickname must be clear. The reader needs to know who is speaking or being spoken too. If too many forms are used too often, the reader may become confused or annoyed and stop reading.

And none of us want that.

Do you have any tips on using more than one name for a character and is it worth the risk?

Thanks for reading . . .

Top 5 Reasons to Write with Pen and Paper

July 24, 2013July 23, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Summer is here, and I love to be outside. Even, or maybe especially, when I’m writing. I don’t want to take the beautiful days for granted. Now some of my friends laugh when I say that because I spend winters in the Bahamas, but I grew up as a Canadian conditioned that summer days are precious and not to be wasted. Do we ever forget lessons drilled into us when we were children?

The computer is usually my place of writing. The words may work their way onto a piece of paper, but somehow the scene doesn’t seem written until I type it in. Maybe that’s weird, but hey, everyone should be allowed a little weirdness now and then.

Top 5 reasons to write with paper and pen:

Practice spelling – no cheating with spell checker.
Create scene descriptions through doodling and drawing.
Make notes in side margins when an idea strikes.
Don’t get interrupted by social media – no announcements of email, FB messages, etc to distract you.
Burn paper if writing is really terrible – this is particularly satisfying.

Does your imagination get sparked by using a new medium?

Thanks for reading . . .

Scrivener and Scene Summaries

July 8, 2013July 11, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Do you keep track of your scenes? Do you summarize what’s in a scene. I used to use a spreadsheet exclusively to do this until I discovered I can use Scrivener. (I still use a spreadsheet for a more complete list that I can sort.)

In Scrivener, for each scene I note:

Chapter Number
Name of Scene
Point of View
Point of Scene
Tension
Revelation
Hook – ask yourself: why would a reader keep reading?
Character introduction and description
Date and Time of Day
Scene Description
Scene Dependency
Other – anything I want to remember. This could be a scene I want to add later. A description that needs updating. Just little reminders I still have word to do.

How does this relate to Scrivener, you ask?

I created a template in Scrivener by copying the relevant cells from and Excel spreadsheet and pasting them into a newly created template in Scrivener.

Then for each scene I insert the template underneath and to the right of the scene so I have the template linked to each scene. As I review each scene, I fill out the template. If I can’t fill out a line then I know I have work to do.

You can choose to compile the scene template with your novel or leave it out. If I’m printing a draft version, I might print the scene template so I can work on paper for a while. If I’m compiling and I only want the novel, I unclick the Include-In-Compile button.

It’s fun to discover new techniques to work with. Always, always learning . . .

Do you have information you keep track of for each scene that helps you make the scene better?

Thanks for reading . . .

I wrote a blog with my review of the Scrivener software that might help…

2013 Arthur Ellis Awards – May 30, 2013

June 24, 2013July 7, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

So you’re looking for something to read?

Want to read books by Canadians?

Want to read crime/mystery novels?

Then this list if for you.

The winners of the Arthur Ellis awards are:

Best First Novel

Simone St. James, The Haunting of Maddy Clare, NAL

Best Novel

Giles Blunt, Until the Night, Random House Canada

Best Novella

Lou Allin, Contingency Plan, Orca Books

Best Short Story

Yasuko Thanh, “Switch-blade Knife” in Floating Like the Dead, McClelland & Stewart

Best Nonfiction

Steve Lillebuen, The Devil’s Cinema: The Untold Story behind Mark Twitchell’s Kill Room, McClelland & Stewart

Best French Book

Mario Bolduc, La Nuit des albinos: Sur les traces de Max O’Brien, Libre Expression

Best Juvenile/YA Book

Shane Peacock, Becoming Holmes, Tundra Books

Best Unpublished First Novel, aka The Unhanged Arthur

Coleen Steele, Sins Revisited

Derrick Murdoch Award

Lyn Hamilton

Writing a Series: Spreadsheet.

June 17, 2013June 16, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Last week I wrote about writing a series and keeping track of details over several novels, and I was asked about my spreadsheet.

In Keeping Track of Scenes I described the spreadsheet I use for one novel. It amazes me how much I’ve changed and adapted the spreadsheet as I learn to improve my process. I’ve also added Scrivener to my list of tools, but I still can’t do without a spreadsheet.

In addition to a spreadsheet per novel, I now have a spreadsheet for the series.

The first column of each sheet states which novel the info is for. Then I include the following sheets:

Characters

names (first and last in separate columns so I can sort by each and make sure none of the names are too similar)
relationships
ages
clothing styles
emotional issues and challenges
anything I think might be important for the next novel

(I use Scrivener for character history)

Locations

places used
local business and who own them
hours of operation for ski lifts or any other business that is in more than one novel.
brief description of place
important characteristics of place

Timelines

Dates of key events (important in later novel when referring to past)

Hope this helps.
Thanks for reading . . .

Writing a Series

June 10, 2013June 13, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 16 Comments

Keeping track of details in one novel can be an overwhelming task. My handy-dandy spreadsheet does the job for me.

But what happens when one novel becomes two and then two become three? And then you make a change in one . . . and it has to be updated in two and then three.

This is enough to drive a person crazy or at least keep them entertained or maybe keep them from sleeping. Who knows?

My solution. As always my spreadsheet. I have now added a new spreadsheet to my collection. I keep one spreadsheet per novel and have found an extra one for details that need to be remembered from one book to the next helps.

I can remember the big details, but what about the ones like an address, a description of a room, a character’s sibling.

Without a spreadsheet I am lost.

Any tips that might help me?

Thanks for reading . . .

Does a routine help you write or . . .

June 3, 2013June 2, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

Do you write anytime or anywhere?

I find I write best if I have a routine, but life doesn’t alway cooperate. I’m able to write during random times during the day or when I have a free half hour here or there, but what really gets me is too much external input.

I find can’t write while on a long distance drive, but I can write while on a plane. Could be because there is too much to see in the passing landscape along the highway, but really, on a plane? What’s to see.

I can write while I’m alone on a walk (digital recorder is much easier and safer than a pen while walking). But if someone is with me, it’s pretty rude to work on a novel instead of socializing with a walking partner, so no writing during social times.

I can write while we are sailing, assuming my husband is at the helm and the water is flat. Rough water = no writing.

I can write if a TV is on in another room. But I can’t write if music is on. TV – boring. Music – interesting.

I can write in very short periods of time but not if there are too many interesting things going on around me.

When do you write best? Do you get frustrated when you can’t get enough writing time?

Thanks for reading . . .

Novels: Point of a Scene – Is there one or should you cut it?

May 20, 2013May 17, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Is There One or Should You Cut It?

I’ve often read the advice that a novelist should be able to summarize their novel in one to two sentences. This made me start thinking about scenes and chapters.

I asked myself if I knew the point of a scene, and if I didn’t should I cut – yes the dreaded word cut – the scene from the novel? It’s easy to get attached to a scene for many reasons but if there is no point, then I ask you what is the point? J

I challenged myself to go through my latest novel and write one sentence describing the point of the scene.

Taking this one level deeper, and adding a new column to my spreadsheet, I tried to reduce the sentence to one word that described the scene.

This did a couple of things for me.