One of the things we’re taught as writers is to start our books and scenes mid-action. Readers want to start somewhere exciting, without scads of backstory or boring “here’s my character’s daily life.” But, nine times out of ten, writers (new and seasoned alike) think about where to start their book (or really, their scenes) without thinking about what comes before. What I mean by that is, they don’t know who their character is right before the book/scene starts.
People feel emotions constantly. That’s a fact. Whether they show their emotions, or how they show them, is unique to each individual. In a novel, our characters also feel emotions. The difference is, readers can’t see them, and, most likely, don’t start out the book knowing them very well. So how can an author show the reader what the character is feeling without simply naming emotions?
Sharing character backstory can be one of the most difficult parts of writing a novel, particularly for new writers. I think this is because, often, a writer spends a lot of time getting to know their characters before they start writing a book. Don’t get me wrong. Writers should be doing some or all of that. At the very least, they should know their characters’ backstories. They just shouldn’t be including it all in their book
A timeline refers to the passage of time in a novel. Timelines are vital to the reader’s comprehension of a novel. The passage of time anchors the reader and keeps them fully engaged in the story as it unfolds. A lot of timeline issues stem from arbitrarily mentioning time passage in a way that serves the scene, but isn't consistent with the whole.
