Novel Time and Place Development Washington DC

In Part 1 of this series on how to write a novel step by step, we discussed character development. In this article we talk of time and place.

1. Place. There are only so many story lines as they say. The same story can be told over and over again in different settings. I often say, "Against different backdrops."

   For example: Our story is about a man who turned jewelry thief to support his family. He gets caught, goes to jail, and later helps the police find other jewelry thieves while still burglarizing homes for jewelry. In the end he accidentally helps the police capture himself.

   Now, where can this story take place?

   Jake Brimley dismounted Pinky and patted her on the nose. "Now you keep quiet, Pinky. Don’t be a-whinnying after Buck Henson’s stallion like you do. I got work to do."

   Now where and when did that last action take place? Did you guess Cheyenne in 1890? How about last week in Young, Arizona? It could have taken place in London or New York in 1740.
   
   Jake lowered the brim of his hat. "Darn, that northerner is cold. If we don’t get to Cheyenne soon, Pinky, both of us will freeze to death."

   So you know where this last action took place. But when?

2. Time.

   Jake rode Pinky along the railroad tracks. He pulled the brim of his hat down to cut the sun’s glare. The tracks converged in the distance and the poles for the telegraph line shortened to a dot. Cheyenne is still a long way off, Jake thought. I’ll be glad when those trains start rolling.

   Now when did this action take place?

   With a little research, we can learn that the telegraph line was put up at the same time the tracks were laid in Wyoming. We also can determine when the first trains for public use (not construction) were running through Wyoming.

   For example, Stephen E. Ambrose wrote a book entitled, Nothing Like It in the World. The subtitle is, The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869.

   That is what I call easy research. You just read the cover of the book.

   ...

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Author: John T Jones, Ph.D.